I was a district nurse in Cleveland for thirty-one years, most of it on nights. You learn quickly that people rarely want to be told what to do at two in the morning. They want someone in the room who is not in a hurry.
I am not a counsellor and I will not pretend to be. What I can do is listen for half an hour without once looking at a clock, and remember what you told me the last time. Some people talk about their week. Some talk about 1968. Both are fine by me.
What people say afterwards
“She asked me one question about my garden and I talked for twenty minutes. I hadn't noticed how much I had to say.”
