2nd February 2007 - It's the wrong trousers Grommet

Today a member of the catering staff strode through the day room towards the kitchen - Julie T Wallace in the Life and Loves of a She-Devil looked like a Geisha compared to this woman. "Where's ma cream slice" she screamed "An some bugger's been in aboot ma vienese whirls n'aw". I felt so terribly afraid for that person if ever she found them. As she strode back, the whole floor trembled and I looked up to see - to my surprise - her beauty, the lovely thing about her - her hair. She'd taken off her hygiene hat - in the kitchen strangely enough - to let her hair down. It was beautiful, thick, naturally wavy, an ash blonde shade that nature could only have come up with because no dye could have given all those glints of life and sparks of colour. I don't think I've ever seen lovelier hair. Unfortunately it was perched on Mount Sumo, but there you go. If you try hard you'll see the beauty in everything or so they say. In this place, it's often very difficult.

Billy was sitting in a chair behind me. At least he was one minute, then I heard a thud, looked round and he was on the floor, coiled. I looked round for help, there were two members of staff standing closer to him than I was sitting, but they were too busy talking about Jade Goody and hadn't noticed. I toy with the idea of not saying anything to see how long it'll take them to notice but then realise how awful that would be so I let them know there's a resident coiled on the floor by their feet.

Dad's holding his trousers up as he's got someone else's trousers on again - "It's the wrong trousers Grommet". I rushed off to get a belt from his room and thread it round his trousers as he stands head bowed as if shamed.

Over at a table Karen is filling in paperwork and absently, gently stroking the hand of Jinny beside her. Jinny is rocking slowly but is calmer than I've ever seen her. When Sally comes into the room - back from her break and reeking of smoke - she notices my glance and says "Aye that calms her doon, that and a banana. They're like animals sometime eh? A banana. She'll do anythin' that one fur ye fur a banana". As she wanders to the kitchen Jinny stabs the air with two gnarled twisted fingers in a 'v' sign at her lumbering retreating back.