Voices of the Mad...

...was the title of a fascinating event I went to this evening. It was one of a series of events to commemorate the bicentenary of Edinburgh's psychiatric hospital, the Royal Edinburgh Hospital, known locally as the "Royal Ed". There were tw0 parts to it, firstly a talk by Allan Beveridge, a psychiatrist and historian, on what the hospital was like, seen through letters of patients from 1873 to 1908. It was followed by poems written and spoken by a friend of mine, J, commenting on the Royal Ed as it is today. The main thing that came across was how little has changed in the eyes of patients - in fact, there were aspects of hospital life that seemed better over 100 years ago! Sad comment really that more progress hasn't been made in the care of patients. But there was much humour in these revelations and it was a very entertaining evening.