Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
A nurse who is the matron of London's Westminster Hospital.
On the island
Eight records
Frederick Fennell conducting the Eastman Symphonic Wind Ensemble
I should like my first record to be The Folk Song Sweet by Vaughan Williams.
Whence is that goodly fragrance?
My second choice is a carol sung by the Westminster Abbey Choir. … Christmas has always had a special significance for me.
Mary Martin (original Broadway cast)
My third record I should like to be The sound of music. … I should like to hear the part where the children are being taught to sing.
Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16
Eileen Joyce with the Royal Danish Orchestra
I think this is lovely music. I heard it first, played by Miss Eileen Joyce in the Royal Albert Hall.
And I should no doubt feel terror. And loneliness. And the words of the next record would voice my hope. Therefore may we have abide with me. Sung by Dame Clara Belt [Butt].
My next record, She Loves You The Beatles … because of my fondness for young people. … I have a great admiration for them.
Nimrod (from Enigma Variations)
Sir Thomas Beecham conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
I should like Nimrod … It would remind me of my home. … It would also remind me of, for instance, Salisbury Cathedral.
Hallelujah Chorus (from Messiah)Favourite
My last choice, a great hymn of praise. The Allelube [Hallelujah] chorus by handel. … I think there is always something to praise God for.
In conversation
Presenter asks
0:24How well could you face loneliness?
I think I could face it fairly well because I should be in the open air. I never feel lonely out of doors.
Presenter asks
1:08Is music important to you?
Not very important.
Presenter asks
5:13Did [your family have] any tradition in [medicine or nursing]?
I had a great-aunt and an aunt who were nurses. But I did not know them, so it was not influenced in any way.
Presenter asks
14:28What was [the emotional side of nursing] – does a nurse grow to feel less, or is it a question of control?
I have given a lot of thought to this question. And I feel sure it is a question of control. When a patient, for instance, dies in a ward, there are relatives to be taken care of and comforted … and then always the needs of the other patients have to be considered.
The keepsakes
The book
A really up-to-date book on astronomy with appropriate star maps
Yes, the universe is always. fascinated me. I think it is intensely beautiful and I should be glad of an opportunity to study it more closely.
The luxury
a telescope and a bookmark with a photograph of Michelangelo's Pietà
Because then perhaps I could see spacecraft and feel in touch with modern life.
Presenter asks
16:00Matrons have a reputation … for being dragons. How did this start?
I think it started perhaps in the Florence Nightingale era when women had to work very hard to improve the status of nursing. And they had to be strict disciplinarian. They had to exercise great authority. And but for them modern nursing would not have developed as we know it to day.
Presenter asks
16:31How do British hospitals compare [with others]?
They compare very favourably. In America, the hospitals are … better equip[ped]. And they are designed for the purposes for which they were intended. … But of course it costs a great deal to be ill in America. … I came back feeling we're proud of our hospitals and of the nursing care the patients receive.
“I think I could face it fairly well because I should be in the open air. I never feel lonely out of doors.”
“I felt very angry. And when the bombs were falling I used to mumble to myself 'Man's inhumanity to man.'”
“I think a happy family feeling in a hospital is very important.”
“I hold somewhat old-fashioned views, perhaps, on this subject. I like to feel that the dignity of each individual is upheld. And I think that some aspects of illness should still be regarded as almost sacred.”
“This record will remind me of my niece and nephew, my little godchildren … and also of all the student nurses who are such fun … I think this would remind me of the vitality and resilience of the young people of today. I have a great admiration for them.”