I have a very busy home life but the festive period has allowed a little time for reflection. Today I was thinking about my pathway into my job.

This is the first psychiatric hospital that I ever entered - Ravenscraig Hospital in Greenock. My father worked there as a nurse.

It would never happen now (I'm not sure it was allowed then tbh ) but I sometimes went on to the ward where my Dad worked when I was of primary school age. This would have been the late 80s and I went to play snooker as there was a full sized table there.

We also used to go to Christmas parties at the hospital and the hospital fete in the summer.

Like most of the old Asylums there was a bit of mystique and trepidation about the place in the local community but I never felt any of that.

I developed an interest in the history of Ravenscraig and places like it.

I suppose it isn't a coincidence that I have spent much of my mental health career in what could be called "total institutions".

Two fairly random thoughts occurred to me in this context (amongst other things):

First, I was thinking about uniforms as I am required to wear one now with the whole covid setup. I don't remember my Dad ever wearing a uniform. He wore a suit to work and was fond of a cord one.

Second, I remember my Dad telling me much later about how he had rearranged the chairs in the ward so that they were in social groups rather than round the day room wall. When he came in next day the charge nurse had moved them all back.

Plus ca change and all that, I guess.