Micklegate Run Drunks

Micklegate Bar in York a historic Street lined with pubs
The "Micklegate Run" is an old York tradition for partygoers
Have a drink in each pub from Wall to River
I never managed it

On Friday I didn't go for a break until 4.30 am ( a long time to wait as I started work at 7.30pm the previous night) I was tired but couldn't prepare myself for a quick doze in the staff sitting room as I had been busy throughout the night with my patient who had died and undergone organ donation, a complicated proceedure which is a real challenge to be a part of.
Anyhow instead of gabbing a few zzzz s I found myself reading a medical magazine article on chronic alcoholism which had been  co authored by a nurse I had worked with in York decades ago!


I lived in the picturesque city of York for three years in the 1980s. and remember my salad days at Bootham Park , the flag ship psychiatric Hospital , with much affection. Not only did I gain invaluable experience working on an acute admission ward and "mother and baby" unit; I had the fantastic opportunity of working  on a placement with the city's community alcohol and drug dependency specialist nurse.


Her name was Lu and she was one of those impressively quiet professional nurses that spoke little, but said a great deal (if you see what I mean?) A small , almost frail woman, she possessed a steely strength which allowed her to deal with a phenomenal case load of patients from a city which was renowned for it's158 pubs!

York is a tiny city, so wherever we went, we would always bump into previous patients who had fallen off the wagon, so to speak....and I never forgot just how dignified Lu was, when she had to deal with these inebriated and often emotional characters.


An overly guilty drunk can be difficult to handle, running away can illicit some embarrassing shouting in the street, while stopping to indulge, is patently a terrible waste of time for a trained counsellor to embark on.....


Lu, as I remember, always kept her voice low, firm and calm at these times. She would often use a touch of the arm to capture the blurred gaze, or to hush a garrulous mouth then she would always say the same thing
"Call me when you are sober, I will be waiting for your call" 


If she was pushed into a confrontation, she would always smile a non patronising smile at the former patient and would say with conviction
"Forgive me, I always make it a rule, NEVER to discuss work with someone who has  had a drink" Her words, strangely enough, were seldom disregarded


She taught me a great deal about respect......respecting people that have often lost respect in themselves


.....and she taught me never to argue with a piss head