‘I've been a bit rough,’ said my brave friend when I arrived. I suppose I should call her an elderly friend, at 85, but actually she isn't elderly at all. ‘I had to call the ambulance on Friday.’
The ambulance?'
‘Well, my catheter blocked again so I rang the ‘Twilight Nurse’ and, can you believe, she was in (she named a town)! So, if I was in pain, which of course I was, she said I'd have to ring the ambulance.’
I had only a vague idea where the town she mentioned was but she said she sometimes drove there and it took her 45 minutes. (I have checked this now with Google Maps — ‘18.6 miles — about 41 minutes’)
Anyway, as luck would have it the block had begun to clear just as the ambulance arrived. She apologised …