Well that was a busy Christmas and New Year. There are three birthdays in my family (four if you count Jesus!) from December 24 to January 3.

Party…party…party. At my granddaughter’s party I had a shock. Everyone was present having jelly and ice cream and playing musical statues when there was knock on the door.

When I opened it, there were Elsa and Anna. For the unenlightened, these two are characters in Disney’s Frozen But there they were, large as life, and dressed for the part. They were in the exact same costumes as the characters in the animation; and spoke and acted like them. For that brief 30 minutes they were living as the two girls from the film. Talking about the place where they lived, making animal balloons and doing glitter tattoos.

It made me think of the roles that we all take on and switch between with ease. So I am husband, dad, granddad, and chaplain to name a few; and sometimes I am two or three at once.

And likewise, the staff here have different roles. I find that as soon as I put on my costume I become the chaplain.

As limited as my skills are I feel that the role enables me to meet people’s needs and to make a difference.

And my nurse friends feel the same. We wear our costumes with pride. But it doesn’t take much to ruin that role.

Imagine if Elsa turned up with a fag hanging out her mouth and Anna was swigging from a bottle of strong cider. Magic ruined.

I strikes me that we all have a duty to call each other to live up to expectations. So if you come to the hospital and find a grumpy and unhelpful member of staff; or someone who is rude and obnoxious – then let me know.

But my experience, and the stories I hear, suggest that visitors see staff who are welcoming, friendly and polite.

So tell me who your star is and I’ll make sure they know. It’s not acting, but it is fulfilling our role to the best of our ability.