The Smoking Ban: The Flowers Speak Up
A junior psychiatrist writes:
I was just taking five minutes out, enjoying the sunshine in the surprisingly pleasant grounds of my new hospital, when the flowerbed spoke to me.
No, I’m not neuroleptic-deficient – other people heard it too. One moment all was quiet, and the next, a disembodied voice was bellowing from somewhere in the vicinity of the begonias. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t actually addressing me, and I know this because it said: “this is a no smoking area. Please put your cigarette out. A member of staff has been informed” and I gave up smoking six weeks ago. But really, how Orwellian is that? The smokers looked understandably alarmed, glanced furtively around, and then scarpered. I can’t help questioning the wisdom of installing a talking flowerbed to tell people off in the grounds of a psychiatric hospital, of all places. It seems a little like taking the piss, or some kind of sadistic headfuckery.
Spotter: Tim
Posted: 15th, August 2007 | In: Reviews Comments (5) | TrackBack | Permalink
