I have just watched the first episode of This is Going to Hurt, based on the book written by Adam Kay. Adam Kay also wrote the adaptation for tv and it was just brilliant. For those who don’t know who he is, he is now a comedian/writer and is also a doctor who previously worked in obstetrics and gynaecology. This first episode paints a dark picture of the pressures faced by a NHS doctor, with good comedic moments and a very moving end. Worth a watch. edit. Despite the end being very moving, there was one comment about an incubator that had me laughing out loud.
I read his book when it first came out. Very powerful stuff (as well as being horribly indicative of the NHS and pressures on junior doctors). Then I was lucky enough to get an invite to a talk he gave at my daughter’s school (she’s librarian there). It was utterly brilliant, especially when he asked if anyone in the audience worked for the NHS and a bloke in the front row owned up to being a senior medical consultant at Reading hospital. He didn’t come in for some flak during the talk ……. There’s one truly heartbreaking bit in the book (which I imagine they’ll do in the series) which completely wrecked him (and me when I was reading it). When things like that happen and there’s little or no support given because there’s simply no resources or money, it makes you realise just how important these people are and how we need to support them.
I read this book, and another called ‘Twas the Nightshift before Christmas, also by Adam Kay. From the first scene it is clear that the NHS (government) is failing in providing the medical staff with the support needed, even down to number of “scrubs uniforms” they can use each day. The ending to the first episode is gut wrenching, (I won’t give details in case it ruins it for others), and you can see the desperation he must have been feeling (through the fine acting of Ben Wishaw , better known as Q in the Bond films). That Kay, during that final few minutes was able to include a line that made me laugh so much, was reminiscent of how John Sullivan could so easily move between comedy and pathos in OFAH. Highly recommend watching this.
This series is next on my “Must Watch” list, not least because of Ben Whishaw’s part in it. An incredible actor who is always outstanding in whatever role he plays, whether it’s as Richard II in the first Hollow Crown series of Shakespeare plays, or Sebastian Flyte in Brideshead Revisited, or Q.
My Mrs just walked down the stairs and said I've just shaved my legs my armpits and my pubic hair you know what that means don't you? I said yes the f*cking plug hole in the bath is blocked again.
If you get a chance to see Adam Kay's live show I'd highly recommend it. We saw him at the Mayflower and it was exactly as funny and moving as the books!
Hooray, the roadworks on the M27 will shortly be a thing of the past! Although the speed limit will only be increased to 60mph for the time being while final testing of smart motorway equipment is carried out. Smart motorway upgrade on M27 enters final stages - BBC News
@ChilcoSaint “A foul mouthed phantom who swears at at passing walkers is being investigated by ghost hunters” A “woman in white” has been seen at a beauty spot called Dead Woman’s Ditch, in the Quantock Hills, in Somerset, with reports claiming that she is telling visitors to “**** off”. Trying to keep one of your walks to yourself?
