May 10th - HCP

The difficulty with being at the Castle is that you're always "on". While you're in the classroom, you can relax to a degree, but in the public areas you're under the scrutiny of public guests.

I've spoken before about being asked the difference between "The green uniforms and the blue uniforms." but what gets my goat is the assumption by public guests that we're somehow an extension of the hotel staff. They tut when we have the audacity to read the newspapers in the lounge, glare at us when we convene in the bar after dinner.

One woman grabbed Kappa and Granny Chan and started describing her indigestion to them!

This week we were having coffee when an older gentleman walked past. He snorted at us.

"Don't work too hard, now, fellers."

I maintained a poker face and replied with my best stars-and-stripes-in-soft-focus-as-a-background tones.

"Not paid for what we do, sir. Paid for being ready to do it."

His companion touched him on the arm.

"That's so true..."

Midge and Stingray were nice enough to let them go round the corner before we all pissed ourselves laughing.

I could write here about challenging Midge to eat Dortios dipped in hair wax (I lost the bet) or the ascending spiral of practical jokery that is developing within the group. But that could cast us in a bad light.

And we're Health Care Professionals, don't you know?