Yazz - The Only Way Is Up


Gawd it been a busy day
The four staff on duty today were on their feet all shift.
And when we finally finished work
My fellow staff nurse looked at me with tired eyes and said with succinct economy  “ I’m Fucked!”
I bought two cheap scotch eggs from the local spar shop as huge waves lashed the West Shore in Llandudno. 
The whole of the North Wales coast is under flood warnings this weekend as gales push the high tide South.
The scotch eggs weren’t too calorific or tasty 
So I didn’t finish them as I listened to radio 2 on the way home
The Only Way Is Up by Yazz kept me awake
It transported me back to The Roxy nightclub on Bootham in York circa 1988
A club frequented by nurses on Thursday nights 
Accessed by a door and a staircase, a stones throw from Bootham Park Hospital just outside the city walls.
Thursday nights were alternative nights
Where nurses partied hard, and where we shared the dance floor with gay men and women , a few moody goths and a couple of badly dressed transvestites/ drag queens who spent long hours sat at the bar like Barbara Stanwick and Rosalind Russell after a dozen vodka martinis
I always wore a red bow tie back then , which complemented a set of red braces over my white grandad shirt.
And I alway danced like loon with anyone who would dance with me
Happy days

I’m top left…..Martin Kirby is the guy in the light shirt (/we are still in touch) the lady in green is Tracy Birkin , a wonderful nurse who could chase and catch any escaping patient whilst wearing high heels and a pencil skirt x


29 comments:

  1. Barbara Anne9:48 pm

    What an energetic song! Hope you'll feel UP and energetic after a good meal and a good night's sleep.
    I married right out of nursing school at age 20, so didn't have any nights of clubbing. A movie quote: 'Good times, noodle salad!'

    Hugs!

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    1. I was single until I went to sheffield

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    2. Barbara Anne12:30 am

      Nice pictures and nice red bow tie! Snazzy!!

      Hugs!

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  2. Replies
    1. Wasn't she fantastic

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    2. I was so in love with them, must look them up, bet I will cry...

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  3. How do you wear a tie with a collarless grandad shirt? Gok Wan needs to have a word 🤪

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  4. I was the oldest in my class. 41 when I qualified, so never got included in nights out.

    I do still hold the title of nurse "most likely to have to wrestle a prisoner to the ground". Actually I'm pretty good at it for being one of the oldest still working in my hospital.

    Love a bow tie!

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  5. Replies
    1. Yaz is now 59 and still looks amazing.

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  6. Like the natty red bow tie - you alwasys were a man of style it seems.

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  7. Memories of good times are cherished. How nice you are still in touch with these people. After a long hard shift, you must do something very special.

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  8. I loved that song but it was after my disco dancing inferno days-my friend from school was a nurse and so our nights out up town were all nurses and party party -I got burn out x

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  9. Love the red bow tie - you could resurrect that look John! Isn't it strange how music brings memories back so vividly? It can also bring my emotions up with an uncontrollable rush. I remember your story of the patient in the hospice who you danced with - that must have been such a healing experience for them.

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  10. Gawd disco who'd ever thought it would be popular, but it was! I liked Sheena Easton back in the day. Natty Bow tie, you look so keen. My brother had a jumper like that!

    Jo in Auckland

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  11. Nice memories John. Reminds me of a private drinking 'dive' I used to frequent on The King's Road; there were always a couple of divas at the bar who would spend the evening getting drunk.

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  12. Great memories. The music always brings them back in an intense rush.

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  13. I've now got that song in my head! It's a great "get up and dance" song. Sounds like you did just that. Happy memories. xx

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  14. Great photo memories. I didn’t recognize you without the facial hair.

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  15. The red bowtie was a vital fashion accessory in those bygone days though I never wore one myself. 1988 seems so long ago now.

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  16. Aww ... you look lovely if slightly gauche ... I bet it shocked some folk when you let rip on the dancefloor. The lady in green looks just like my friend Fiona, I had to have a closer look!!

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  17. I just remembered-my top man wore a red leather studded bow tie-Very fetching with his jet black waves x

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  18. Well..I wanted to take a nap...and now I'm dancing...

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