At Salisbury Review, Dalrymple writes of a recent hospital visit (to aid a friend) that he found surprisingly relaxing and even comforting:
…not only were the chairs in the waiting area comfortable, but there was no electronic stimulation or compulsory entertainment whatsoever: no television, no pop music punctuated by drivelling presenters, no advertisements, no bullying propaganda. There was no assumption by the management that, rather than being left to our own devices, we needed to have the gap in our minds filled with the weather forecast, the latest stock prices or football results, sexual scandals in high places, scenes of war, episodes of soap opera, cookery programmes, or any other type of stimulation that acts on the mind as a food mixer acts on vegetables.