Lady Penelope
master brummie
I have a memory from 1964 of the old Eye Hospital, now a hotel in Church Street. The out-patients department must have been exactly the same as it was when the hospital was built in 1883. The room was large and very noisy - no private or even curtained off rooms then. The doctors were dotted about the room with huge wooden benches allotted to them for their patients to sit and wait. All examinations were done in public! Good job it was only eyes....
There was one doctor that fascinated me - he was a very tall Asian and must have had something wrong with his ears as they were painted with Gentian Violet. He was an arresting sight anyway as there weren't so many Asians then but to have purple ears as well - unforgettable. The in-patients area upstairs was also original with large rooms with very high ceilings and dull cream and green paintwork.
The best room was the rest-room on the corner of the hospital. This is the one with the beautiful window. The building is one of the few in Birmingham to have been saved.
There was one doctor that fascinated me - he was a very tall Asian and must have had something wrong with his ears as they were painted with Gentian Violet. He was an arresting sight anyway as there weren't so many Asians then but to have purple ears as well - unforgettable. The in-patients area upstairs was also original with large rooms with very high ceilings and dull cream and green paintwork.
The best room was the rest-room on the corner of the hospital. This is the one with the beautiful window. The building is one of the few in Birmingham to have been saved.