On one of my many recent trips to see my father-in-law in the hospital in Ashford, I happened to pass the following directional sign:
Is it me, or do other people think that it is a bit bizarre to put the hospital's restaurant next to the Mortuary and Pathology Department ... and then to call it 'The spice of life'?
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If you had posted this on Friday I would have thought it was an April Fool's joke.
ReplyDeleteIf you'll excuse the pun, putting the resturant next the Mortuary is in rather bad taste.
BigLee,
ReplyDeleteHistory does not record how good the restaurant is or how many people actually eat there ... but I must admit that its location would rather put me off!
All the best,
Bob
The whole list looks odd, not only the spice of life restaurant but what´s the training room??? What do they train there???
ReplyDeleteCheers
paul
Clearly no sense of irony in that particular Primary Care Trust. Since they haven't noticed, perhaps you ought to tell them.
ReplyDeleteApparently the food is simply to die for...er...I'll get me coat.
ReplyDeletePaul's Bods,
ReplyDeleteHaving seen some (and I stress the word SOME) of the staff in operation, it was not the staff who use the Training Room!
All the best,
Bob
Tom Gow,
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that I am the first person to spot this sign ... but there again, how many people actually read signs in hospitals?
All the best,
Bob
The Wishful Wargamer,
ReplyDeleteOuch! That was worse than any of the jokes I came up with ... and then didn't use!
All the best,
Bob
The proximity suggests an explanation as to why the morgue is always so empty. Further, it also suggests one should look with deep misgivings at anything the retaurant offers with names such as "Ground Chuck", "Stew", "Kidney Pie" (whose kidney?!), "Head Cheese" (whose head?!), even "Beef Wellington" (you never know...) My advice would be to keep an eye out for these things, but that's probably been taken care of already.
ReplyDeleteChris,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your comment, I will definitely NEVER EVER eat there!
All the best,
Bob
Brilliant - thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteIan
Stryker,
ReplyDeleteIt made me laugh at a time when I was feeling very under the weather, and I thought that it might appeal to the sense of humour of my regular blog readers.
All the best,
Bob
Hmm - I think that you are all being a little churlish. "The Spice of Life" is an admirable name for a hospital restaurant, and a welcome cheery note for passing pathologists on their way to dissect their latest arrivals. An encouraging efficiency opportunity arises for the rightly be;leagured "health" secretary - perhaps the kitchen and pathology teams could share tools - knives, saws ( have you eaten an NHS pie?)m etc. etc. "Scrubs" might also be shared - saving a further cost of buying too many different pattern uniforms. In fact there's a huge opportunity here - perhaps the restaurant staff could diagnose and prescribe while you queue for food, and the pathology team could serve the meals etc for you. Obviously mistakes would have to be avoided - I'd avoid ordering anything involving phrases such as "chop", "sliced", "diced" or - more worryingly...preserved.
ReplyDeleteKen H,
ReplyDeletePerhaps this is a foretaste - in more way than one - of the impact of the proposed NHS reforms!
All the best,
Bob
Cafeteria placement often leaves something to be desired. My university has a "Lab Cafeteria" - I've never eaten there except to buy coffee but it gives mental images of dissected frogs!
ReplyDeleteHi Bob,
ReplyDeleteHope you're feeling better. As far as the restaurant's name goes...at least they didn't call it "Sam & Ella's Cafe"!
Martin
Oddly this strikes me as a perfectly reasonable name for a resturant.
ReplyDeleteWhat gets me is that somebody bothered to name it at all....
Somebody was paid to name it and design a sign for it. That probably cost a few hundred to *maybe* 10k quid depending on how dumb the person commisioning it was.
On the other hand, it's nice to see that Ireland is not alone in wasteful medical spending
Peter Douglas,
ReplyDeleteI can understand why you would not want to eat there; it does sound a bit 'experimental'!
All the best,
Bob
Martin,
ReplyDeleteThanks for that; it made me chuckle!
All the best,
Bob
Arquinsiel,
ReplyDeleteThe name itself is not a bad one ... but I agree with you; did it need a name? Why not just 'Hospital Restaurant'?
My only concern now is that my blog might bring this bizarre restaurant name to a wider public and cause it to be renamed ... at a further cost to the NHS.
Still, bureaucrats and sign painters need the work ...
All the best,
Bob