Cardiology and the Genius Loci.

I had to go to the cardiology department of the Royal Derby Hospital yesterday and I felt uncomfortable there. I looked around and found nothing obvious to explain it. The furniture and fittings were pretty much the same as all the other departments I’ve visited; the staff were polite, pleasant and efficient. And yet it didn’t feel right and I was anxious to leave.

Maybe it had an entirely prosaic explanation. Maybe it was all to do with the layout, the size of the rooms and the quality of the light. And it is a fact that the main part of the hospital is a veritable succession of mazes within mazes. It’s relatively easy to find your way in by following the signposts, but the signposts mostly point inwards, so finding your way out again is rather more difficult. Maybe the labyrinthine nature of the place simply encouraged the fear that the Minotaur’s lair might be too close for comfort. Or maybe it’s me. Maybe I have a mild form of claustrophobia.

But I wondered whether other people felt the same way. I suspect they didn’t because I imagine most people are less sensitive to the genius loci than I am. Is that arrogant? I don’t know. I suppose other people might well feel the same way, but just don’t think about it as much as I do and don’t make the same connections. I have been accused of being weird often enough after all.

And on a more practical note, I’ve decided not to take the medication the doctor prescribed (and for which I waited nearly an hour at the hospital pharmacy.) Too many rules and requirements around the timing of doses, and too many side effects. It would screw up my lifestyle and take away what few simple pleasures I still have left to me. The angina is uncomfortable, but it’s the lesser of the two evils.