THE ART OF SILENCE...
To Maidstone Hospital for an X-Ray on a dodgy knee which has been suffering from the wear and tear of decades of football, cricket, golf, coast path walking, dog walking and refereeing and now needs a bit of attention.
Not for the first time I was impressed by Maidstone Hospital - it seems to be pretty efficient and the reception staff are all very helpful. I was directed to the right bit, checked in and took a seat in the waiting area which was pretty crowded. I was told I might have to wait for 45 minutes or so before being `seen to.` Fair enough, so I settled in.
Now there was a time when, in situations like that, people would start a conversation - about the weather, the news of the day, comparing ailments - anything really to break the ice cold silence to help while away the waiting time. But as I sat down I noticed that just about all the others there seemed to be glued to their mobile phones, tapping away, eyes down, looking in.
And it occurred to me that rather than any attempt at ice breaking or, less still, polite conversation, silence itself seemed to have been raised to an art form. Either that or I had been directed to the wrong department after all. Oh, and those who were walking about seemed incapable of doing so without the comfort of holding on to a cardboard Costa coffee container or a bottle of water.. All very strange. It will be interesting to see what the X-ray reveals.
Not for the first time I was impressed by Maidstone Hospital - it seems to be pretty efficient and the reception staff are all very helpful. I was directed to the right bit, checked in and took a seat in the waiting area which was pretty crowded. I was told I might have to wait for 45 minutes or so before being `seen to.` Fair enough, so I settled in.
Now there was a time when, in situations like that, people would start a conversation - about the weather, the news of the day, comparing ailments - anything really to break the ice cold silence to help while away the waiting time. But as I sat down I noticed that just about all the others there seemed to be glued to their mobile phones, tapping away, eyes down, looking in.
And it occurred to me that rather than any attempt at ice breaking or, less still, polite conversation, silence itself seemed to have been raised to an art form. Either that or I had been directed to the wrong department after all. Oh, and those who were walking about seemed incapable of doing so without the comfort of holding on to a cardboard Costa coffee container or a bottle of water.. All very strange. It will be interesting to see what the X-ray reveals.
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