8th May 1972 – 8th May 2012

 

Here we all are, remembering the past.

Back to May ’72 – thought we were going to have a blast!

Denim blue dresses, white aprons, red capes, hats fixed steady.

Pelicans in the making, lives to save, was the RIE ready?

 

Friendships forming, friendships lasting – so many memories shared.

All those rules – there for the breaking, but only if we dared!
The wards we’ll never forget – 15: 22 : 13, to mention a few,

And their Dragon- like Sisters, convinced none of us had a clue.

 

The relentless shifts, the earlies, the lates, seem a lifetime ago.

Night Duty too, pacing the wards, keeping the lights and our voices low.

Miss Wright, Miss Shiney, Miss Arris, all left their mark.

PTS, Sister Anderson – Cockroaches- Mm, some memories best left in the dark!

And through the years, in Nursing, we’ve mainly all stayed

Watching the changes, some for the better, some leave us dismayed.

Now, at times, with no warning, you can hear “In my day—”

But we’re allowed to, we’re Pelicans, known to have our say!

 

Well, 40 years have gone- in a flash, with some of us still learning,

Others have waved ‘Goodbye’ to work, retired, no longer earning.

And our hospital, into fancy apartments has been made,

But it will take more than that, for our memories to fade.

 

So let’s remember the RIE and our training days,

The stressful times, the happy times, the meagre pays!

The Black/White Corridor, Red Home, and that journey, which made each of us a Nurse,

And all the times since then, when our choice of career, has made us CURSE.

 

Here’s to the Royal, here’s to Pelicans, here’s to Us!

And Absent Friends —–Kathy, Betty and Fiona.

 

Written by Elspeth Neilson (Nee Allan) for 40th Reunion 2012.