Florence, 83 · Manchester, England
The post piles up on the hall table.
Macular degeneration. “I can see you perfectly well, it's only the small print.” A hospital letter can sit for a fortnight until her daughter visits.
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The short versionFlorence, Manchester
The short version joins two moments of the call. — 6.0 minutes, with nothing taken out.
Before the call
The scene
Quarter past ten on a wet Wednesday morning in Levenshulme, Manchester. Florence is in the back room of the terraced house where she brought up four children, in her chair by the window. Rain is running down the glass. The carriage clock on the mantelpiece ticks, and she's just made a pot of tea. The hall table has a stack of post on it she hasn't opened. Yesterday her neighbour Maureen took a photo of the one letter "with a window in it" and sent it on. Florence has macular degeneration. She'll tell you she can see perfectly well and it's only the small print. She's composed and private, a little guarded, with a dry Manchester humour she uses to keep people at arm's length. She'll let a voice on the phone read her a letter. She won't let it tell her what the letter means. Letter text, as photographed (read aloud in full in the call): > Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust · Manchester Royal Eye Hospital · Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9WL > Date of letter: 24 September 2026 · Hospital number: M0417732 > Mrs F Whitworth, 12 Ashworth Grove, Levenshulme, Manchester M19 3PL > Dear Mrs Whitworth, > Your appointment. Clinic: Medical Retina. Consultant: Mr A Okafor. Date: Tuesday 13 October 2026. Time: 2.40pm. Location: Level 2, Outpatients Department. > Please arrive 15 minutes before your appointment time. During your visit you may be given eye drops which enlarge your pupils. These can blur your vision for 4 to 6 hours. You must not drive to or from your appointment. You may wish to bring someone with you. Your visit may last up to 3 hours. Please bring a list of your current medications and your glasses. > If you are unable to attend, or no longer need this appointment, please telephone the Appointments Office on 0161 496 0730, Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 4.30pm. > Yours sincerely, Outpatient Appointments
After the call
What Karen got, in Leeds
Florence · today’s call
for KarenHospital letter read to her in full (Maureen photographed it): Royal Eye Hospital, Medical Retina, Tue 13 Oct, 2:40pm. Drops, so no driving, and it could take up to 3 hours.
She's asking Jean to go with her and wants to tell you herself on Saturday. I'll remind her on Monday 12th. Sharp and in good form.
About this recording: Florence and everyone on this call are fictional, and every voice is synthetic, designed from a written description rather than copied from a real person. The call was built from our specification and rendered through a simulated telephone line. The timings are enforced by the renderer: it fails if Zika talks over anyone or ends the call itself.
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