Call Me Sister Read Online Free PDF

you usually do. That seems to suit them. Anyway, that’s where our folk are.’ After he visited, the smell of wood smoke lingered in a ward I was soon to leave.
    When it came to then, Sister Gall, to my surprise, had organised a little tea party. I nearly asked for a bacon sandwich. Instead we had Penguin biscuits and drank strong tea out of the Pyrex cups from the tea set I’d been gifted.
    â€˜You tell me you’ll be based in Conon Bridge. That’s near Dingwall and of course it’s where Dusty said she’d be going.’ Sister Gall sounded doubtful. ‘You never know, you might just meet her and then you could ask her to pop in and visit you.’ She swung a cup as if giving a toast, then with just a touch of mischief, she added, ‘And if she does, you might find one of these’ll come in handy. Just don’t bother with the saucer.’

5
SISTER SHIACH SHOWS THE WAY
    I never did see Dusty but I was reminded of her brother not long after starting my apprenticeship with Sister Shiach. On a late afternoon in January, she was driving us along a street of Dingwall council houses. One had a chimney puffing out wood smoke that, despite the closed windows, crept in to fill the car with the familiar smell that Dusty’s brother brought with him when visiting her.
    Jomo was in his usual place, riding shotgun in the front of the car, whilst I was crammed into the back. I hoped the Williamsons were, despite their wandering ways, somewhere more comfortable. However, accompanying Sister Shiach had other attractions.
    ‘I feel like the Duke of Edinburgh,’ I joked. ‘We can’t go anywhere but people are waving and smiling at you. Look at that old man. He’s just got off his bike to wave to you.’
    Slowing down to nod and smile back, she said, ‘Oh dear. I’m thinking he can hardly afford to be out, never mind on his bike. At least he got off it. He’s getting so doddery these days, he could easily have fallen under my car wheels.’ She furrowed her brow and glanced at me in her mirror. ‘D’you think he looks a bit peelywally? I’d say he looks a bit anaemic. Maybe I should have a word with the doc.’
    Thinking these car journeys were a bit like a ward round and might explain Sister Shiach’s erratic driving style, I said, ‘You must know everybody.’
    She laughed and shrugged. ‘Well, folk know us by the Morris Minors, they’re such a terrible colour. Miss Macleod seems to think they tone in with the uniform!’ She snorted. ‘Personally, I’d love something of my own choice and bigger. I’m working on her to see if we can get to buy our own.’
    I persevered. ‘Well, I think folk’ll still recognise you, car colour or not.’
    She waved a deprecating hand. ‘If they do, it’s only because I’ve been here such a long time. You know, I sometimes think that if I haven’t seen them at one end of their lives I’ll be around for the other. I’m not sure if I’m seen as all that helpful either.’ She sighed. ‘For instance, I’ve been a right pain in the proverbial to the mum we’re going to see. I’d forgotten she’s gone from living in a van to moving to a house. I’ve had to learn to make allowances for her that I mightn’t consider having for other patients. There’s been a lot of learning for both of us.’

    We’d spent the mornings visiting patients who needed essential nursing care. I was always impressed by my advisor’s kind, warm approach and easy relationship with her patients. If I can copy her, I thought, I’ll be all right. The afternoons, however, were generally spent on post-natal and health visiting, and they were more daunting from my point of view.
    ‘But I haven’t got health visitor qualifications,’ I’d protested at the outset.
    Sister Shiach had been reassuring. ‘Neither have some of the other girls,’ she said. ‘You’ll eventually need to get yours. The course takes a year. But the fact of the matter is that in this neck