Sunday I went with a pal to hear Gavin Francis at the Portobello Book Festival . This was the description in the Programme:
LIBRARY DOWNSTAIRS
Award-winning author Dr Gavin Francis’s latest book Intensive Care is written from the perspective of a GP working in both urban and rural communities during the Pandemic. Gavin will be in conversation with Dr John Budd, GP at the Edinburgh Access Practice, which provides care for patients who are homeless. They will discuss how Covid has changed lives, the amazing work of Edinburgh’s Inclusion Health outreach teams and the city’s response in terms of housing people who would otherwise have been rough sleeping.
It was really good and as ever, I’d recommend getting a ticket to Portobello Book Festival events – it is a great addition to Porty life. However an odd thing happens to you when you are involved with buildings. I noticed there was a G4S steward on the door and my curiosity was piqued. I later asked one of the organisers about this who told me the Council had provided security and cleaners so the Festival could go ahead. Running community venues warps your perception of what is worthy of note!
Taking the chance of being in the library I dropped off my few lines about what Portobello means to me in the box for their National Poetry week poem. Hope they can work it into something good.
Don’t forget my request for a up to 12 words reflecting a sense memory of things remembered or imagined about Porty Town Hall and I’ll see what I can make of it. Start the line with See/smell/Touch/Hear/Taste or Let’s. Send it by 14th October to hello@portobellocentral.org.
Monday, our usual team meeting was postponed but after the consultants’ Project Viability meeting last week, I requested we take time for those of us who could make it to talk over options for the building. Everyone is at different stages of understanding of the building and options, even in our group. However the meeting was a bit hampered by those of us who get their internet from BT – the service was down and they couldn’t join. As I write the big social media firms Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram are down worldwide. If you read this via Facebook, things must be connected again. Rest easy.
Jennifer’s blog #97
Thanks for the recommendation Jen. I will be buying this book.
I was thinking that books like these may well be compulsory reading in the schools of the future. Just like we learned about the Spanish flu of 1917-18 which in photos echo eerily the streets of today, with masks being worn. How lucky we are to have a vaccine and also knowledge from that pandemic and more medication and machines to help patients recover. As we fight back, viruses will adapt & mutate. I do not believe we can eradicate a virus completely. As long as there is humans, there will be viruses and we have to learn to live with them.