REAL LIFE: Dr Penelope writes about her Middle Eastern adventure

Doctor, yachtswoman, saxophonist, magistrate, author and a mum-of-four.
Dr Penelope Gordon with her husban Lionel Jarvis. Penelope has written a book on her time working in Doha. She is also a yachtswoman and saxophonist.   Picture: Duncan Shepherd (180097-009)Dr Penelope Gordon with her husban Lionel Jarvis. Penelope has written a book on her time working in Doha. She is also a yachtswoman and saxophonist.   Picture: Duncan Shepherd (180097-009)
Dr Penelope Gordon with her husban Lionel Jarvis. Penelope has written a book on her time working in Doha. She is also a yachtswoman and saxophonist. Picture: Duncan Shepherd (180097-009)

It’s exhausting even thinking about how Penelope Gordon has managed to juggle all the aspects of her life, along with being the wife of a Rear Admiral in the Royal Navy.

Some readers may know Penelope from her role as consultant radiologist at Queen Alexandra Hospital.

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While less fortunate readers will recognise her from the magistrates’ bench she now occupies at Portsmouth Magistrates Court.

Dr Penelope Gordon with her husban Lionel Jarvis. Penelope has written a book on her time working in Doha. She is also a yachtswoman and saxophonist.   Picture: Duncan Shepherd (180097-009)Dr Penelope Gordon with her husban Lionel Jarvis. Penelope has written a book on her time working in Doha. She is also a yachtswoman and saxophonist.   Picture: Duncan Shepherd (180097-009)
Dr Penelope Gordon with her husban Lionel Jarvis. Penelope has written a book on her time working in Doha. She is also a yachtswoman and saxophonist. Picture: Duncan Shepherd (180097-009)

The 64-year-old, from Droxford, has an enormous love for the city, having spent a considerable part of her working life here and by the side of her husband, Lionel Jarvis, now the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire.

Penelope has also managed to find time to write about an exciting chapter in her career – the three years spent as medical director of Qatar, which meant she was responsible for the professional development of senior consultants.

Her newly-published memoir of that time, 800 Days in Doha, documents how Penelope coped with the huge cultural differences in the Middle Eastern state, where senior female doctors never reveal their faces.

Was it nerve-wracking swapping Portsmouth for Doha?

Dr Penelope Gordon with her husban Lionel Jarvis. Penelope has written a book on her time working in Doha. She is also a yachtswoman and saxophonist.   Picture: Duncan Shepherd (180097-009)Dr Penelope Gordon with her husban Lionel Jarvis. Penelope has written a book on her time working in Doha. She is also a yachtswoman and saxophonist.   Picture: Duncan Shepherd (180097-009)
Dr Penelope Gordon with her husban Lionel Jarvis. Penelope has written a book on her time working in Doha. She is also a yachtswoman and saxophonist. Picture: Duncan Shepherd (180097-009)
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‘I was perhaps a little wary, rather than nervous’, says Penelope.

‘Culturally it was very different. But underneath the diverse customs, beliefs and extravagant displays of wealth, there was a common humanity of wanting the best for the patients and for simple justice.

‘I was confident in my abilities in medicine and building teams. But I worried how I would cope in a situation where I was a senior female in a very male-dominated environment.

‘They took to me very well but I was careful to take things slowly. I very much followed the traditional Middle Eastern customs of talking about family and getting to know people.

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‘I did not have to cover my face but I worked with very well educated female doctors who never show their faces except behind closed doors with other females.

‘I didn’t have to but I was very respectful of their culture and always covered my arms, I never wore short skirts.

‘And I’d go to the souks and buy beautiful material which I’d have made up in Doha into lovely outfits. And they really liked that.’

For a couple used to adventures in their two decades together – with Penelope referring to herself as Mrs Admiral when she accompanied her husband on Royal Navy duties – things were not always easy in Doha.

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‘There were times when it was lovely and times when it was difficult.

‘It took a while to gain their confidence and trust.’

Penelope and Lionel returned to Droxford after just more than two years. But Penelope couldn’t give up work full-time. That’s when the bench called.

She says: ‘It sounds a bit cheesy but I wanted to give something back.

‘I have had a long, very successful career as a doctor and I don’t want to stop working but I don’t need to earn a lot of money. I wanted to be a magistrate in Portsmouth, it’s a fantastic city with fantastic people. But there are areas of deprivation and crime and you need responsible people to do that [magistrates’] work. It’s very, very rewarding.’

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After Doha the couple embarked upon another adventure together – sailing their yacht Lady Penelope from Turkey, across the Aegean, through the Greek islands and around Sicily before leaving it in Malta. It was an idyllic three weeks.

Back on dry land Penelope’s focus is on family life – the couple recently became grandparents – working part-time as a magistrate and playing saxophone in Meon Valley Orchestra and Jamie’s Big Band.

She says: ‘I played clarinet but stopped because work was so busy and I had children. A few years ago Lionel bought me a saxophone. I picked it up and just loved it.’ The orchestra’s first performance is on March 10 at United Reform Church, Fareham.

The couple have four children between them from previous marriages – they are aged between 29 and 36.

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How did Penelope cope with four teenagers under one roof and a high-profile career? ‘I was very organised and I was not scared to spend money on help’, she says candidly.

Lionel is the chairman of St John Ambulance and the charity will benefit from every copy of 800 Days in Doha.

Penny spends a lot of time supporting her husband’s charitable work.

So, how have they managed to maintain two decades of happiness, considering they have both been so busy?

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Penny says: ‘ We get on really well and I think the secret is to have these outside interests away from the marriage. We’re both quite strong personalities, with a good sense of humour and we respect each other.’

800 DAYS IN OHA BY DR PENELOPE GORDON – AN EXTRACT

Arab culture and customs are difficult to understand.

I am working late when a young Arab man enters my office.

He is polite but very angry. Apparently his wife has been examined by a male doctor.

He explains that in his culture this is completely unacceptable and moreover it was an intimate examination, which makes him feel personally violated.

We have a long discussion and I ask him if he wishes to make an official complaint, but he is adamant that he does not, nor does he want to meet the doctor concerned; the implication being that if he does, he would have to kill him.

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The husband requests that I speak to his wife. So we go up to the gynaecology wards, where a lone figure dressed in black with her face completely covered is pacing the corridor. I suggest going back to her room for some privacy, whereupon she leaps up on to her bed, whips off the abaya and veil and underneath is clad in skinny jeans and strappy T-shirt.

She looks like any young woman bouncing along Oxford Street on a summer afternoon.

We discuss her concerns about an impending MRI scan and I reassure her. A vigorous discussion ensues between husband and wife about the morning’s examination.

It seems she had been properly chaperoned, her dignity was respected, she was covered and the doctor explained everything, so she had no complaints.

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It seems appropriate to leave them so I stand up and proffer my hand to the husband, checking, ‘You will shake my hand?’ ‘Oh yes,’ replies his wife. ‘He’s very progressive.’

n 800 Days in Doha is published by Chaplin Books. Go to chaplinbooks.co.uk or pick up a copy on Amazon.

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