[Margaret Pilkington]

Many years ago, as a student nurse, I worked on one of the ante-natal wards.
The sister on the ward had spent many years in the Asian sub-continent doing voluntary work with the poor......so she spoke a number of asian languages.
One day a couple of asian men visited the ward and made some very derogatory comments about her in their own language. She overheard this and was off like a shot to challenge the men...IN THEIR LANGUAGE.......you should have seen their faces. They were so shocked that a middle aged white woman could speak and understand their mother tongue. This was in 1976.