Holidays in her home, as in the wider world, means that the usual happenings are put off, dispensed with, until everything is back to normal. People living in institutions and reliant on others for the fulfilment of their routine are, understandably, unsettled by the uncustomary lack. She wasn’t in her room when he called her. He tried several times. She called him back in the end. She had texted him, saying that she’d be away. One of the carers had offered to wash her hair. It needed it, she said. This carer is a kindly one. She often brings her fruit, bought with her own money. A hair wash. A simple thing and yet a big thing. A small act of kindness writ large.
