At last month’s meeting 42 members and 3 visitors came along to hear a talk by Bob Harding-Jones “Can I help you? I’m a Paramedic”. Bob gave us a very amusing talk about his time as a Paramedic with the Hertfordshire Ambulance Service.
He went to Writtle College after leaving school, to train for farm work, which he did until his early 40s. He then retrained, first for the patients transport service, taking people for appointments, and after two years, as a Paramedic. He told lots of anecdotes of his time in the service, like the old couple who had collided on the landing of their house and could not get up; he had to untangle their zimmer frames and check that they were ok, and left them arguing as to who had caused the accident! They are called out many times for ‘emergencies’ that turn out to be a headache or sickness, but a new system has recently been put in place to try to ascertain the exact problem before the ambulance goes out. He has to be good at interpreting euphemisms that people use to explain what is wrong with them, which has caused many a smile. As well as being a Paramedic, he is a poet and has performed at the Edinburgh Festival among other places. He has produced a couple of books of his poetry, which were on sale at the meeting.
Our next meetings are on 28th May, when our speaker Stephen Lester will tell us about “Experiences of a Provincial Auctioneer” and on the 25th June, when our speaker Henry Brickwood will tell us about “Beautiful Gardens to visit.” Membership is currently full, but visitors are welcome at a cost of £3.50.
Details of all our meetings and speakers can be found on the diary on the home page of the Winstred 100 website. If you would like any further information about P.A.W.S. please ring any of the following committee members: Alice Holmes 01206 735510, Jane Banks 01206 735004 or Jane Anderson 01206 735505.
