About the beer

Yeah, I suppose I'll have to go back and leave that beer.

One of the things that made Miss W. special was a rule-breaking sense of humour. Back then, beer was thought to be beneficial for ulcers. The ward had once had a retiree being treated for gastric ulcers, so we were entitled to a modest beer ration. Somehow, she saw to it that guy never left the record, and we got the beer ration long after he had actually gone. So in the evenings, after lights out, on the day that the ration arrived, Miss W. saw to it that everyone who could have a little beer had some, along with a conspiratorial smile. That wasn't a lot of us (not me, for example) but the thought and attention was what made this woman so incredibly special to us all.

Again, here's to you, Miss W.