
February 13th – It struck me as I returned from work late, that hospitals grow their own economic microclimate. All round Walsall’s new Manor Hospital, there are a range of convenience shops. More than average numbers of newsagents, cafes, taxi offices and even undertakers. Oddly, fast food outlets of varying degrees of healthiness also proliferate. I wonder if they’re serving the staff, or patients more? Here on the Pleck Road, business looked brisk, even at this evening hour.