Author - daniel

Medical Leadership on the Norfolk Lane

daniel2026-02-24T21:09:43+00:00 The Norfolk Lane refuses to be impressed by the weather, by my clinical workload, or by the slow theft of Cody’s strength. It keeps its bends, its stiles, its quiet insistence. Cody, too, keeps going. I envy his certainties because I, so often, feel far...

Common Sense on the Ward

daniel2026-02-24T20:30:22+00:00 Cody still moves like he owns the lane, three paws steady, one failing, dignity intact. Animals don’t overthink. I do.Last week, a government press release proposed stopping offenders detained in psychiatric hospitals from receiving Universal Credit, to “restore fairness” and “common sense” by treating them...

Scapegoating, Empathy and Resolution

daniel2026-02-24T20:29:22+00:00 Recently, during a quiet walk with Cody, I reflected on a common organizational ritual: the meeting held after a significant failure. These meetings are often framed as “frank discussions” about improvement, accompanied by reassurances of “no blame.” However, the atmosphere in the room often suggests...

Beyond the Hedge

daniel2025-12-04T10:45:07+00:00 Autumn is reshaping the fields. Hedgerows pull back, fence lines emerge, and the countryside braces for winter. Cody and I walk familiar lanes where change is gradual, organic, and earned.The wind is sharper now, and my thoughts drift. Recent weeks have been a blur of...

Flags on the Lane

daniel2025-12-04T10:42:40+00:00 The path is the same- the same gentle bends, the same stiles that creak ever so slightly and the very same invisible birds that remind you of their presence.He walks with me, a familiar black figure, tail carried high. He pauses to sniff the spots...

Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves

daniel2025-08-28T11:05:57+01:00 Today’s walk with Cody was quiet, one of those uneventful starts to a surprisingly sunny bank holiday weekend.The stillness gave space for reflection, especially on a couple of meetings this week. They were framed as “frank discussions” about what professionals could do better. “No blame,”...

Every time we have a Mental Health Awareness Week, my spirit sinks. We don’t need people to be more aware. We can’t deal with the ones who already are

daniel2025-08-28T10:59:48+01:00 “Every time we have a Mental Health Awareness Week, my spirit sinks. We don’t need people to be more aware. We can’t deal with the ones who already are.” Sir Simon Wessely, newly elected President, Royal Society of Medicine, 2017.The bluntness of his assessment, the...

Sometimes I talk to the dog. Sometimes I talk to ChatGPT. Only one makes me feel like it is talking back to me

daniel2025-08-21T11:01:23+01:00 “Sometimes I talk to the dog. Sometimes I talk to ChatGPT. Only one makes me feel like it is talking back to me.”  My 22-year-old son.His words made me think about how we are entering a world where artificial intelligence or AI is becoming a common mode of providing...

Grandpa, more people know the dog than you!” – my granddaughter, this morning.

daniel2025-08-21T11:06:41+01:00 One of those priceless conversations in one of our daily walks in Norfolk, and she’s right!Every other person we pass, stops to greet the dog.I’m just the person on the other end of the lead.It made me think about how connection works.People respond to openness,...

I know what the textbooks say. But when I look into those liquid brown eyes, I’m never quite sure

daniel2025-08-28T10:55:07+01:00 The walks have been getting shorter for some time.Once an enthusiastic bundle of energy, my 10-year-old companion now is more measured, his breathing just that little bit heavier, his gait slower.Vet appointments have grown longer, more frequent, with matter-of-fact updates about the unusual malignancy, the...