I had a holiday once… it was a while ago, I remember it vaguely. I got up later than 6am and I drank tea in bed while watching the sun shine through the emerald tall trees outside. I had leisurely walks. I climbed and I went swimming. I skated and I played tennis. At night I chatted with friends over dinner and played games, laughing and gossiping.  No worries about getting up the next day.

I took a holiday once.

Do you know when that holiday was?

Last week.

However it seems like a distant memory floating away from me like a ripple in the sea that you can’t catch. It was there but now it’s gone.

It’s been replaced you see, by this:

1. 476 external emails, 43 of which are ‘urgent’
2. 93 internal emails. Subject titles include complaint, angry, appointment misery and leaves in the drains.
3. 7 voicemails
4. 18 tasks
5. Two members of staff crying. About each other.
6. A broken INR machine
7. A health care worker very annoyed about the broken INR machine
8. A GP with more back problems
9. A nurse who has broken her toe
10. An administrator needing to tell me every detail of her weekend away at the 80s Butlins do
11. A secretary wanting to show me a new Dictaphone she *needs* (my favourite joke ever – can I have a Dictaphone?…. why don’t you use finger like everyone else)
12. A broken tap
13. A receptionist with ‘the flu’
14. Another receptionist with ‘the flu’
15. A leak into the nurses room

The list goes on.

I’ve only been back in for two hours.

Holiday.

What holiday??