In praise of the reopened Wellcome library

I want to go to the Wellcome.
They make sure it lives up to its name.
It’s clean and it’s neat
The chairs are a treat,
And it makes the BL look lame.

I want to stay at the Wellcome.
No expense has been spared over there.
They’ve Wi-Fi that works,
There are plenty of perks,
The loo paper’s quilted – I swear!

I want to move in to the Wellcome.
Do you think they would give me a place?
Surrounded by books
In one of their nooks,
I wouldn’t take up too much space.

I want to live at the Wellcome.
The service I can’t get at home,
It's so nice the way
At the end of the day
They will tidy away every tome.

It’s bliss over there at the Wellcome.
No papers in teetering piles,
No sticky marks on my screen
Where the children have been –
Whom I guess I might miss after a while…

Perhaps I won’t move to the Wellcome
The problem is food there is banned,
And everyone knows
That one cannot write prose
Without coffee and chocolate to hand.

Maugham's moment

Somerset Maugham, chronicler of the early 1900s, is in vogue again. One of his short stories, 'The Letter, is on at Wyndham's Theatre in the West End, and the film of another, 'The Painted Veil', is enjoying box-office success. In an afternoon of sheer indulgence yesterday I went to see both. Maugham is of interest because he qualified as a doctor but never practised. His medical training is evident in his writing, particularly in 'Of Human Bondage' which is not about S&M, but about the constraining nature of social obligation. 'Human Bondage' is one of my favourite novels. It's excruciating in places -- the protagonist, Philip Carey is infuriating but fascinating. Like his creator, Philip also spends time as a medical student. Descriptions of stigma (Philip has a club foot) are thought to be informed by bullying Maugham experienced as a result of his stammer.

'The Letter' and 'The Painted Veil' have parallels, aside from a penchant for white linen suits and panama hats. Both are set abroad and deal with issues of adultery, colonialism and corruption. 'The Letter' (Independent review here) stars Jenny Seagrove (of TV's Judge John Deed fame) as a woman accused of murder. Anthony Andrews is absolutely outstanding as her lawyer and friend of her husband. It's an engrossing, if somewhat outmoded, story, sumptuously produced. I was puzzled but the lighting effects which suspended time permanently at dawn in spite of most of the action taking place at night. This minor irritation aside, the sets were stunning.

'The Painted Veil' has landscape to rival 'The English Patient' of which it is faintly reminiscent. This is more obviously medical. The character of Walter Fane (Edward Norton) is a bacteriologist -- now there's a profession that rarely gets an outing in literature. He takes Kitty (Naomi Watts) to Shanghai with him, and then on to deal with a cholera outbreak in the back of beyond. Fane has a touch of Mr Darcy about him and Kitty is capricious society girl who finds herself out of her depth in a politically unstable, disease-wracked community. It's a portrait of a impulsive and ill-advised marriage which matures under desperate circumstances. I really loved this movie. It's worth seeing on the big screen for the cinematographic splendour of the Chinese landscapes.

I have resolved to read more of Maugham's work. He has an enviable talent for characterisation, realised very well in the stage play 'The Letter' and the film 'The Painted Veil'.

I was rocked!

This time last week an intrepid band of medical students were starting preparations for the third annual '24-Hour Opera'. This is a show prepared and performed over the course of a night and a day. Saturday's show was 'We Will Rock You'. Heaven knows how many cans of Red Bull were consumed during the making of this show, but the performers didn't look as if they were suffering from sleep deprivation. In fact the energy levels rivalled those of my 6-year-old on smarties and Robinson's.

The cast did fantastically. The dance routines were great (well done to our own Tash Wiggins who was the choreographer). Matt Mak revealed talents we would have found ways to exploit on the Medical Humanities course last year had we known he could sing and dance. The band was really amazing -- what a talented bunch of individuals. Did anyone think to invite Brian May? He was spotted in SAFB the other day...

Well done to the directors Claire and Seshi, the backstage crew and everyone else involved. It was a memorable evening, and all for a worthy cause. Funds were raised for Demelza House.

Mozart and the Whale

For everyone that attended the meeting of 'Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time', I forgot to mention that there is another book (and film now) that provides more insight into Asperger's Syndrome - particularly the notion that autistic people are drawn together.

The film stars my favourite actress, Radha Mitchell (of 'Neighbours' fame!), and is based on the book by Mary and Jerry Newport. Jerry Newport is an author with Asperger's Syndrome and is also a mathematical savant. The book is a true story of their relationship and has been well received by critics. It is by no means a heavy read and is described more as a "quirky memoir" than anything else.

I am going to get hold of the film asap (since it wasn't actually released in the UK) and will let you know if it is any good. You're more than welcome to come round and watch it with me. Possible future book/film for the Purple Coat Club?

Lines written on attending a memorial service for babies and children

The world goes by. Inside
The clocks are stopped.
A passing cyclist in the dappled park
Cannot sense the sadness within.

Along the altar, lights are lit
For all the lights too soon extinguished.
A baby’s voice echoes from a laden pew
As silent cries echo in these leaden hearts.

A hymn, a muted sob, a prayer
Rise to the high walls, where
The sinking sun casts spring leaves’
Lively and playful shadows.

Stethoscape

Last week saw the opening of Stethoscape, the Medical Humanities art exhibition at Imperial College. I was pleased to attend the opening night although I have to admit a certain degree of scepticism before hand – what should I expect of art works created by medical students? Yet, as I wandered around the exhibition it soon became clear that I need not have worried.

Inevitably, the quality of works on show varied enormously. What impressed me, however, was the quality of the ideas behind them which was consistently high. These works were, without exception, fresh, inventive, engaging and provocative. Some stood out more than others - Leonie Williams' Still Life is a particularly intelligent and accomplished piece - but all displayed a thoughtful engagement with the themes of the course. With more than a passing nod to Foucault, the students produced a body of work which examined the role of the doctor, the patient, the medical student, physical and mental health, power relations, emotional involvement and clinical detachment. The list goes on…

Some students used themselves as the subject of their work, others used the body in different ways, while others absented the body entirely. It was, perhaps, this later group which was most interesting from an art historical perspective. For, it is here we have an opportunity to consider the minds and bodies which are pivotal to the efficacy of the doctor-patient relationship without (re-)subjecting them to the gaze of the beholder. After all, haven’t they been poked and prodded and scrutinized enough all ready? It would seem not, since much of the work reflected on important themes in new ways, revealing new insights and leaving the beholder with much to consider.

The self-reflexive manner in which many of the students worked showed a willingness to be self-critical, an openness to the possibilities offered by medical humanities and perhaps a process of self-discovery which even they themselves did not expect. I don’t know to what extent the students considered affect – they way in which their work might impinge upon the consciousness of the beholder. How might those who visit the exhibition re-evaluate their own medical relationships whether as doctor, patient, relative or anything else? The value of artistic practice is its potential to make people look again at a situation and think, just for a moment, how that situation might be transformed.

On that note, I leave you with Alice Monk’s Statement of Interpreter(above), a piece which grips you with its presence. The brief catalogue entry relays an awful situation, one which makes your stomach churn, but you have to keep on looking...

Stethoscapes continues at the Blyth Gallery, Level 5, Sherfield Building, Imperial College London until 30th April.

Keats

Tamzin Cuming has published an interesting piece about Keat's poem 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci' in the British Medical Journal (subscription needed for the full text). Apologies for subjecting you to my holiday snaps (feel free to be 'sans merci'), but I did think of this poem a fortnight ago in Rome when we passed by the house where Keats died. I did not venture in -- or even any closer given the crowds. Also, having two children and a Grandma in tow, eager for the delights of the park at the top of the Spanish steps, was a disincentive, but I plan to visit it some day.

I can't resist plugging Keats House in Hampstead, London. This is a wonderful little museum in a beautiful setting and they have a good programme of events.