I remembered a nurse called Olga today .
I’m sure she has died by now.
She was an older woman when I worked with her many moons ago
I didn’t like Olga.
She was brusque and prickly and she never really liked the patients she cared for.
Having said that,
She never really liked her co workers either.
However Olga liked flowers.
She would bring bunches in from her garden at home, or would send the more biddable patients out when the daffodils filled the hospital flower beds and would cram a myriad of glass vases with blooms , placing displays on window ledges and on tables and anywhere they could be seen .
Weekly she would empty each vase and would hand wash them with hot soapy water in the ward sluice
It was a ritual she always completed on her own
Hot soapy water
Cleaning the glass inside and out
Then rinsing each vase before leaving them to air dry
“ It’s my restful time “she explained once “my time”
A woman who didn’t really like people enjoying a mindless , repetitive job
I thought of Olga today as I cleaned my collection of Burleigh Ware Art Deco crockery.
I had placed it all on top of my kitchen cabinets five years ago where it has become greasy and dirty with cooking and dust and soot from the fire and slowly and deliberately I have soaked each piece and cleaned away the dirt until my fingers wrinkled from the soaking and the bleach.
It’s been a mindful afternoon with the ticking of the kitchen clock and the sound of bird sound from the garden my only company.
I've had some mindful (mindless?) time today too. On my knees weeding out the clumps of grass from the bed in my front garden. It's a nice feeling looking at what you've achieved, too. I love your crockery. xx
ReplyDeleteI slowed everything down deliberately
DeleteThe pace was almost sedentary
I enjoy faffing with flowers. Nothing fancy, just a few things from the garden usually. There's a lot of pleasure to be had from small things.
ReplyDeleteI faff with flowers too
DeleteLovely china and a peaceful time carefully, mindfully washing and drying each piece. Then placing them back out of harm's (and Albert's) way. Olga would understand and might be pleased to be remembered.
ReplyDeleteHugs!
I was also thinking of who will get possession of the pieces after I pop off
DeletePerhaps Hattie and in time, wee now, but grown up Freya?
DeleteHugs!
Perhaps
DeleteYour crockery looks very nicely refreshed. Doing repetitive tasks while calmly acknowledging feelings can be very relaxing. It is a bit like meditation.
ReplyDeleteYes , I get that totally
DeleteNo one who loves flowers can be all bad.
ReplyDeleteIndeed Debra
DeleteFunny how things stay with us... like the memory of Olga carefully washing the vases until they sparkled. Some people are hard to like but they probably cannot help that.
ReplyDelete"Some people are hard to like but they probably cannot help that". Dearest YP, I am spoilt for choice as how to answer this without John feeling obliged to spare your feelings. Still, credit where it's due: Thanks for making me laugh.
DeleteOn a positive note: I yet have to find ANYONE not particularly likeable without at least one redeeming feature - as demonstrated by John's post. What's yours?
U
YP , yes, I get what you mean , exactly ! Lol
DeleteSadly I have had the misfortune to have crossed paths with several Vile persons x
DeleteSome people are contrary just for the sake of it - an unpleasant character trait that they simply cannot shake off. Above we see yet another example of this irritating condition.
DeleteInteresting notion, YP: "... contrary for the sake of it ...".
DeleteWho decides who is contrary? And why is it an "unpleasant character trait"? Someone voicing a different opinion is contrary? Someone who not even voicing a different opinion just a possibly and different angle on a subject is contrary?
I have never thought the questioning mind as "contrary". Challenging, yes. Not for the lazy. Contrary for the sake of it? Only devil's advocates do that. And you know what happens to them, don't you? They get deleted (supposedly unread) on, say, for sake of example, your blog.
Come to think of it: Deleting those who you either dislike or whose take on various subjects don't chime with yours may be defined as "contrary" on your part. But then some people do operate through narrow channels. A most undesirable character trait.
Hugs,
U
Mary, Mary, quite contrary... should be your theme song.
DeleteYP, theme song indeed. Let's complete the nursery rhyme where you left off:
Delete"Mary, Mary quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shells
And cowslips all in a row."
Water with sunshine,
U
Oddly and off on a tangent John-today I looked at my notepad and saw scrawled by myself the word Olga at the top of the page-I think it is a blog that I had possibly browsed-a young lady living in another country possibly-strange though x
ReplyDeleteHums the music from the twilight zone
DeleteThat pottery looks lovely, John.
ReplyDeleteIt looks better clean
DeleteI learned to slow down and ''be in the moment''/ mindful when I had my first pug. We'd look at dandelions, full moons, stars and open windows. It was very hard for me, a busy city person always in a rush.
ReplyDeleteYou do not seem to remember Olga kindly, or approve of her vase washing tho. Flowers did not redeem her crankiness for you.
“
ReplyDeleteI learned to slow down and ''be in the moment''/ mindful when I had my first pug. We'd look at dandelions, full moons, stars and open windows.“
I adore that sentence , and wished written it
Thank you, John. My first pug was a gentle and magical soul who taught me a lot. His sweet ghost lingers.
DeleteJohn, never try to read people's mind and inner workings. How do you know whether she liked her patients/co-workers or not?
ReplyDeleteMatrons are known to be brusque. Matter of fact. Giving marching orders. Comes with the job description. I know because not only was I hospitalized once or twice in my life, my first mother-in-law was a matron. She ran a tight ship - not least at home. Yet, once past the stern facade, I recognized her as caring, sweet, loving, devoted - in a, well, brusque sort of way. Unfortunately, a view her daughters didn't share.
U
Ursula
DeleteSigh….
“ How do you know whether she liked her patients/co-workers or not?”
Of course I don’t, these is my memories of a relative stranger
And so they stand just as they are ….just my perceptions and thoughts about someone else…
Funny I just knew you’d comment as soon As I wrote the words
You "knew"? Well, I am reliable.
DeleteU
Predictable more like
DeleteWell, to add my 2 cents for what it is worth...this is a case where if the patients and co-workers felt disliked by her, that is the message she out forth. If she internally liked them what did it matter if the message she spread was sour. Ursula I find it very sad that your MILs own daughters didn't feel any warmth.
Delete*set forth
DeleteWe all are less than perfect aren't we? Yet all of us have something to give. I'm glad you saw what Olga gave, despite her own brokenness. It takes grace to see the good points of others with your own two eyes.
ReplyDeleteLife, work, time, all add to the distance between people
DeleteYou can’t see everyone clearly not all of the time
No. That is true. She was a difficult person it sounds like, but all these years later, she popped into your mind and you saw her differently. Grace, John. That was grace. May we all give (and receive) it.
DeleteMay I share this please-I had a naasty mother in law who physically pushed me out of the way with her body like a dodgem car when I tried to help with the washing up-Only she could do it just right-she then grabbed the pan from my grasp scratching her nails on my knuckles-I didn't offer again x
ReplyDeleteInteresting
DeleteOlga once slapped my hand when she saw me drawing up an injection incorrectly
I think Olga reached out to others in the only way she was able. Those mindless jobs often provide us with much emotional comfort.
ReplyDeleteMindless, repetitive jobs can be a meditation.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that Olga looking after flowers and washing the vases was mindless. Not repetitive either. Maybe Olga was a misery but she found something that soothed her.
ReplyDeleteWashing grimy china can be a pleasure, as you found out yourself, and then there's the pleasure of having sparkling clean vessels to admire afterwards.
Understood and agreed
DeleteI was recently horrified when preparing my house for a tea party. All of my China and crystal on display had not been cleaned for ages. I washed it all and it looks so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI always love doing Thanksgiving dishes with my husband. I wash and he dries and we both gossip about the dinner we just hosted.
I hope Olga was at least a good and profficient nurse, though not a *people* person? She obviously had a love of something.....and gave flowers and vases due respect. Perhaps she may have been better suited to being a curator of antiquities at a museum....where she could have washed and dusted to her hearts content without interaction? I love that she was in your mind and heart during your labors today...... she did leave a mark!
ReplyDeleteSusan M
Mindlessness is much more useful.
ReplyDeleteU should know xx
DeleteIt's what keeps me sane... or something.
DeleteWell, I am not going to suppose anything about Matron Olga (Steve Reed's dog is an Olga, too).
ReplyDeleteHowever, I must say I covet those art deco dishes ... my God they are expensive! Wow!!!
Not as expensive as classics cliffe
DeleteReally??? Still way too pricey for my purse! LOL It is beautiful pottery!!
DeleteSounds like a nice afternoon, and everything will be clean
ReplyDeleteA quiet afternoon can be very restful, even if you're working.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in the antique business I met a dealer who had a shop at the top end of Portobello Rd. A dealer in America has asked him to supply 500 old 'Potties', for use as punch bowls. He spent a long time gathering all the potties together, and when it came time to ship them off to the US, he heard that his contact had died. I actually saw the whole lot of them in his basement.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Olga would like a mindless, repetitive job if it was just that, a job that she was paid to do. That it wasn't something she needed to do to survive financially may have made all the difference.
ReplyDeleteThat's a peaceful scene to imagine, especially with just the sound of only birdsong through the open windows. A bit Zen like maybe. There is such pleasure in the "tea making ceremony" I would think.
ReplyDeleteI suspect she did like her patients more than you give her credit for. She sounds like when you were learning she taught you well with the injections. Just because some people may have what you judge to be a brusque exterior does not mean they do not have deep emotions and feelings for others.
ReplyDeleteShe wouldn’t socialise with any of her work colleagues , not even on breaks and spent most of her work days efficient but uncaring towards her patients who were long stay psychiatric patients .
DeleteOn reflection I think she wasn’t a well woman ,
But as for slapping a student nurses hands
Even she knew she was out or order
It’s just how I remember her
DeleteWell I didn't know her so I cannot add any more but I don't think she was a bad person.
DeleteNo I don’t either,
DeleteShe just stuck in my head
I love a job like that, the sparkling china will be thanking you for the care every time you look up at it ... and I bet you are noticing it a lot more now that it is nice and clean.
ReplyDeleteI love the word "faffing" which I just learned from Veg Artist. I also enjoy "faffing about" in the garden. It's when I'm the most mindful. I don't get quite the same pleasure from cleaning- unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteYes it’s one of my favourites
DeleteI love that pottery. I don't know Burleigh Ware, but I might buy it if I find some! (And if it's not insanely expensive.)
ReplyDeleteGood article, thanks for sharing, please visit
ReplyDeleteour website