Home (a story by Petty)

Ice bucket, hey? Sounds deplorable, Mr Tyrant! A chap like that should get what he deserves, and no mistake!

Can't help but agree, Petty. Not even a Banks would steal an ice bucket -- not that I'm suggesting any Banks guilty of thievery, Odo!

Orwell wrote:There is quality everywhere in Forumshirte, Amarie, but I am especially fond of "Home". Maybe it is it's 'real life' bent. Insightful and beautiful in its own way. I'm in a funny frame of mind, me-feels. My latest writings go toward the inane, but my need for 'serious' and 'real' stuff to read (as opposed to fantasy, however good) is strong at the moment. "Home" fills the gap. It's truly excellent. {{{I think Petty must have a Ghost Writer! }}}

Oh Mrs Figg - anything that gives you the creepywobblers MUST be creepy-as!

I feel a bit similar, though it seems to be a bit more permanent in my case. I think work and kids have left my brain sleep deprived and thirsty for quality stories and art, and at the same time making damn sure nothing useful leaks out.

Oh there's nothing useful in my head that I fear will slip out, Amarie!

Ice bucket? I once heard of someone steelin a coal skuttle, their little legs going ten to the dozen down the lane, leaving a cloud of dust behind, but I dont like to mention it, it seems to bring out the dukes in some folk.

I need to read this, I feel

Good idea Norc! And it will be interesting to see if the subject matter can appeal to the more youthful among us.

I've fallen behind on a lot of the stories here but Home was always one of my favorites. I'd definitely recommend it, Norc.

what's it about?

It's probably better just to give it a go Norc and be suprised. If I told you what it was about the subject matter might be off putting, or not sound very promising (its one of the problems with writing this particular piece).

And thanks Eldo.

And there's me beginning to think

ol' Eldo was drownded!

Eegad! I think I've been

confounded!

Two things Petty.

One: I start my Aged Care Course on Monday. (I'll soon be walking in your footsteps - if I decide it's for me). And it has reminded me... Two: What has happened to "Home"?

{{{Actually, while we're at it, what happened to Little Loki Panic? }}}

Orwell wrote:Dear Petty,

You are no doubt fully busy making my video, but if you were to break off from that awhile and write some more "Home", I'd be willing to forgive you! Don't let this tale rust away to nought. It has been a long time between installments!

yours faithfully,
Orwell McOdo.

Aye!

What I did you as video- ok for a different song and about two years later- but still!

Though thanks for bumping this thread, might even get me back working on it if there is the interest.

Two days into course and I keep thinking about "Home". Training phase, yes, but your Home tales have a resonance of truth. Always thought they did, but the training is bringing your tales... err.. home, somehow! I still think much of it was brilliant. And, yes, write more. {{{It's like he isn't paying attention! }}}

Mixed emotions on reading this. Fearful of my own demise & plainly hoping I go out without so much as a sniffle & the clarity of how its written. I was there, word for word, because you so simply described the Home my own mum was in & probably thats how she passed away also, those cold, clinical last few "wish it would end" moments. Years mum was in a Home & years I spent going to see her. I also saw & heard 'things'. And now I fell...numb ? empty ? weird certainly.

I am glad it rung true for you Azriel in the sense that it means I might be onto something writing wise, but I am sorry if reading it caused you any upset.
Thats part of the problem with it being unfinished still- not that I am saying the full thing has a happy ending or anything, but it has more room for humour and a bit of hope.
Its about the residents but its also mainly about how ridiculous and impossible the job actually is in the conditions its expected to be carried out in. And whilst some cruelty is there I have tried to show that there are people working in homes who really care about their residents, its just the job tends to get the way of them doing so properly. And above all I wanted to be brutally honest about the sort of things you might think and feel doing that job in those situations.

Funny enough I dont find it upsetting, just, well, sometimes you feel its only happening to you ? & then when someone else either says the same or writes the same it leaves you feeling "wow" its not just me, Im not in a dream world Makes me more determined than ever to NOT end up ga-ga in a nut house ! I swore that when I saw how mum, was not just treated by the staff & 'inmates', but also how her health took a nose dive probably exacerbated by the gloom & misery of her surroundings.

Well I am glad it seemed true to your experiences Azriel.

Sadly that health nose dive exacerbated by 'the gloom and misery of the surroundings' also affects staff.
After 7 or 8 12 hour shifts in a row trying to look after 12-16 dementia patients you can get pretty frazzled and worn down and depressed.

But the media only ever focus on care workers when there is a scandal or appalling treatment to talk about.

Oh I dont doubt it ! I think you need to be a special kind of person to do that job & Ive often imagined how low it can get you working in that environment. If anyone needed bucking up it would be the staff. I think good managers should play their part in helping staff be, if not happy but, at least be able to cope ? Hand on heart...I couldnt do that job & I admire & applaud those that can. Its a thankless job & one thats taken for granted & one that fooking idiots at the Jobby push people into with no thought whatsoever as to if those JSA'ers can handle it

I think good managers should play their part in helping staff- Azriel

If I ever meet a good manager in a home I'll let you know!
For me the managerial level are a large part of the problem- they tend to just get in the way of the job and their main function seems to be to implement whatever the latest stupid set of impractical regulations are dreamed up by a government making yet another ill-thought out knee jerk reaction to some media scandal.

Often managers are just hopelessly out of their depth.

This is sort of spoilery as I use it in my story in a fictionalised way but a home I worked in got in an assistant manager whose previous experience was being a manager of a caravan park.
The home in question was at the time the only one in the area that was 100% dementia patients too, making it very tough.
It was also always short of staff so the assistant manager role was not an office one but a more hands one when things were busy (getting everyone up in the morning, meal times, toileting, and bed times).
On her first day I was getting an old fellow up, washed and dressed and she was 'assisting me'.
I asked her if she would give him a shave for me whilst I sorted out his clothes- but she had never shaved someones face before and refused afraid she would cut him, so I told her I would do the shaving and all she had to do was put on his leg bag, which is basically a bag that is strapped to the leg, a tube goes into it to collect urine, the other end is a sort of thick sheath, like a heavy duty condom that rolls over the penis, it has a nozzle at the end and the tube simply attaches to it.

You should seen the look of disgust and horror on her face as she blurted out, "but I cant touch his thing!"



I ended up being pulled into the head office after that as I told her that if she couldn't shave him and she wouldn't touch his penis to apply the sheath she was no bloody use to me and she may as well just bugger off as she was just in my way.
Sadly I am not very good at holding my tongue (you may have noticed this!).

But though she was an extreme example of the breed frankly I've never met a manger in a home who was much more useful (actually thats not entirely true, there was one, but she ended up manager by dint of being there for decades from care worker, which is ideally how it should be but rarely ever is).

True words Petty Ive seen enough & heard enough of what does or does not go on in Homes & its a frightening prospect. The only Home my mum found ANY joy or peace or Karma, whatever you wanna call it was the 2weeks before she passed away.This Home was great, the staff so nice, shame it came to late for mum. She was put there as the Home she was in for years realized at the very last second that they couldnt cope. Not after the 3rd trip to hospital. The Home was reported by me, half the residents of the town, even staff reported this particular Home, but its still "trading". Funny how the wheels run slow when you want to uncover something bad going on.

The Home was reported by me, half the residents of the town, even staff reported this particular Home, but its still "trading".- Azriel

I think the rules are different in homes in England, from what I know its a bit stricter in Scotland- but in practice just as poor.
Here a body called the Care Commission is supposed to investigate homes and ensure standards are being met, they can impose large fines or even close a home down, but its not as simple as that.

The Home I mentioned above that I used to work in that was all dementia patients for example (it no longer exists so I can talk about it fortunately) was at the time the only all dementia home in the area- by the time I left, about a year before it was finally closed down after two residents escaped through the night and were found dead the next day on the beach from hypothermia, we were putting buckets out when it rained to catch the water leaking in whilst the owners bought themselves a new luxury yacht.
For 7 straight years the Commission gave us a list of stuff that had to be fixed by the next inspection or else, and for seven years the owners did nothing- not a single thing on the list.

So why didnt the Care Commission do anything? Because if they had fined the home it would have closed, if they had shut it down same problem. And then in a rural area you have twenty hard to look after dementia patients the other homes in the area don't want that would need rehousing. There was nowhere for them to go.
So instead of acting the Commission had to try to persuade instead, but the owners knew, and the Commission knew, if nothing was done there was no threat the Commission could bring to bear that would make a difference- the Home held all the cards.

Pettytyrant101 wrote:I think good managers should play their part in helping staff- Azriel

If I ever meet a good manager in a home I'll let you know!
For me the managerial level are a large part of the problem- ...

But that - of all straws - was the one that broke my Polceman's back after 25 years!

{{{Perhaps I could start mowing lawns.... and there's always the busking.... }}}

Um, maybe its different down under? Maybe your management will have the residence well being at the fore front and not their bank balance. Maybe they wont just see care staff as people to underpay, overwork and treat worse than the furniture- you never know.