The Legacy of Flo continues...


Today, as a bit of a change, I signed up for a free lunchtime lecture provided by the National Army Museum. The subject was 'Florence Nightingale at 200' and I thought this would be an interesting subject with the current situation. Like many others, I clapped for the NHS last night, and I tweeted for International Nurses Day on Tuesday. Both a nephew and a niece are nurses and I am very proud of them, so I pressed the button and signed up, ready for the presentation at midday.

The beauty of this talk was I could attend it from the comfort of my own sofa, complete with coffee, and not worry about my mismatching attire. We were encouraged to submit questions beforehand in a bespoke box on-screen, all questions then laid out for attendees to read. Many asked about the link to Mary Seacole, the hospital in Scutari and Florence's illness. I was attending as a spectator not only to learn more during her bicentenary year, but to see how the whole on-line lecture process worked.

At midday, my screen suddenly came to life and contained three faces, very much live. The host and two speakers were with me in my house (I wish I had dusted and the cat would stop snoring). Speakers were introduced and the event outline was shared with everyone. The host speaker was the lovely Emma, who I worked with for four years when I was at the NAM. She ran through a powerpoint highlighting items from the NAMs' collections, including both photographs and objects. The other two speakers (one from the Florence Nightingale Museum and the other a Trustee from the Military Medicine Museum) were asked for contributions relating to specific elements of Florence's story, to bring in a wider perpective. Technology worked well and we could see/hear all speakers clearly and the powerpoint was easy to follow. I couldn't help but notice that Emma's dining room looked nice and tidy. Thank goodness it wasn't me on screen. (Note to self - need to tidy bookshelves stacked to the brim behind me.)

From 'Florrie's lorry' to one of the turkish lamps she carried around the Scutari wards in the 1850s, I learnt a little more about this affluent female pioneer. Her nurses viewed her as dictatorial, she contracted Crimea fever from which she suffered throughout her life, her painstaking collection of statistics helped her argue her case re mortality rates to parliament. The speakers highlighted the similarities of the new Nightingale hospital at the Excel with the 3,000 bed Scutari ward, the washing of hands and obsession with hygiene and how her statistics legacy continues today. Wow, I was lapping this up. I would never have been able to attend this if it had been delivered live at the Museum in Chelsea!

Being able to access this online had provided me with an opportunity to learn more about 'the lady with the lamp.'  What was equally as interesting was the direct connections to what is happening today and the further discussions about the medical role of the Army and its connection to the civilan medical services. Although I was hooked in by the bicentennial of Flo, it was adapting the content to highlight elements of the current situation that proved equally as interesting. Well done to the National Army Museum. I shall certainly be signing up next week.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Socially Distanced Alternative?

Image
Matchlock Musket or Brown Bess?  As debate rages whether the Prime Minister will reduce social distancing from 2m to 1m tomorrow, I think we may have the answer for our visitors. Like many other businesses, we at the Museum have a range of posters and floor stickers in production, hazard tape at the ready and a socially 2m safe layout in the pipeline. Or  perhaps we should consider alterna tives to ensure people don't get too close... Let me introduce you to the Brown Bess, o r 'British (Long) Land Pattern Musket' to give it  it's proper name,  used between 1722  and 1838. There are plenty of variations to this flintlock weapon, but at a metre and a half long, it is well on its way to being a useful tool in social distancing. Although the len gth of the Brown Bess did decrease during its long and illustrious history. The Brown Bess was the standard musket of the British military, used in battles such as Culloden and Waterloo. It was the first mass-produced weapon for th
Read more

Anti-Bacterial wipes for the Medieval Castle?

Image
As part of preparations for opening the Museum staff volunteered to go round the Castle to check out preparations for opening tomorrow.  Not everywhere on the site can be open (medieval castles are not known for social distancing) but one area that could prove interesting will be the dungeons in the Keep. These rooms are all the more fascinating as they are home to the infamous 'licking stones.' I was once asked by a friend to help with her infant class on a visit to the Castle. Obviously, they got all the spiel spiced with kiddie-friendly humour and when we entered to dungeons, I built up the tension and relayed the Jacobite 'licking stone' story. 'Errr' many of the kids commented when I shared the licking stone story 'that's horrible!' which why it was more surprising when one of the wee kids said to me 'Miss, miss. I've just licked the stones!' Joy, oh joy. Not sure that was on any risk assessment. Now I am not actively encouraging vis
Read more

Once a Guide, Always a Guide...

Image
T onight is another night out in the garden camping. Tonight we are having a Ranger Guide campout with all the girls either camping in their garden or inside their house. We have arranged a call at 7pm and may even burst into song with a virtual campfire. We have all arranged to photograph the evidence of our group sleep out and post it in our WhatsApp group. Luckily the weather is good and it is set to be a warm night so we shouldn't have many mishaps. We were due to go camping as a unit in July but this is unlikely to happen. It is good to encourage the girls to enjoy the great outdoors and camping is an excellent way to introduce them to this primitive way of living outside. I have camped since I was a Guide enjoying weekends, weeks and even longer camps all across the Country from Cornwall to Scotland, Yorkshire to Norfolk. Obviously the weather is a factor in making camp a wonderful experience but it is good to teach the girls that you can still have a great time in the wind a
Read more