Miss England Returns Home from Global Tourto Join Frontline Fight Against Covid英格蘭小姐回國抗疫

Due to the pandemic， Dr Bhasha Mukherjee， 25， from Derby， has become the longest-serving Miss England ever. Here， she tells us how she balances that glamorous role with life on the wards.由于疫情，來自英國德比郡、現(xiàn)年25歲的芭莎·慕克吉醫(yī)生成了有史以來保留頭銜時間最長的英格蘭小姐。在這里，她將告訴我們她如何兼顧這個光鮮角色和醫(yī)務(wù)工作。

The day after I won Miss England in July 2019， I came back down to earth with quite a bump. Id just graduated from Nottingham University， and was starting my first day as a junior doctor at Pilgrim Hospital in Boston， Lincolnshire.

Id stayed up for the after-party and then had to catch the 4am train from Newcastle to Boston， dragging all my luggage—my Miss England outfit， work clothes and my new crown in its special case—with me.

I was trying to focus on the induction， but my phone kept ringing and I was bombarded with emails. By the end of the day， I had a huge blister on my foot and left the hospital with just one shoe on.

Im not sure what the waiting media， outside the building， made of it！ I thought to myself， “What a way to become Miss England！”

But thats been typical of my journey to become the countrys first South Asian Miss England. Its been a question of balancing my geeky， studious side with my other interests—first dancing when I was a teen and now modelling.

Ive always been independent， travelling all over the country for competitions and castings. One year， when I underperformed in exams， my dad suggested I put modelling on hold.

Thats when I told myself， “If I want to do one， I have to do the other right. To be able to dance or model， I have to make sure I do my work too.”

My parents， who came to the UK from Kolkata， India， when I was nine， always drummed into1 me the importance of getting a sensible job.

There was an expectation Id go into medicine—its a revered profession in Asian families—but on a personal level I also wanted an academic career. Being a medic keeps you on your toes and I enjoy the feeling when you help fix someones problems.

Making a difference

Although being a beauty queen and a medic might sound like two very different things， in some ways I was drawn to competing in pageants for the same reason.

I wanted a platform for myself， and Ive seen a lot of successful women come out of the industry and make a difference in their field of work.

The thought of entering Miss England hadnt occurred to me—it can be complicated for ethnic minority women here who might have an identity crisis about who they represent—until the organisers of Asian Face of Miss England got in touch.

I won that competition， and from there I progressed to Miss England.

Beauty pageants have evolved. Theres no swimwear round and Miss England introduced a ground-breaking element this time which had us all turning up in the same outfit， with no make-up on at all.

When you go to castings its easy to spend thousands on a look， but not? ? ? ?everyone can compete with that. This was about being yourself and it was liberating.

Of course， for the finals you put on a glamorous evening dress， but the judgement is made on months of hard work the finalists put in.

I had a good feeling， but I wasnt expecting to win. When you see the standard of all the women competing， your confidence nosedives， but you do your best. My victory hit me like a bus—it didnt feel real！

For two months I continued working， but then took a gap year to focus on the Miss World competition in December 2019 in London， and travel opportunities.

Suddenly， I was jetting across the world from Turkey to Africa to India， little knowing life was about to be turned upside down for the second time in six months.

When the pandemic first started to gather pace， I was in India at the start of a tour of Asia. There was a lockdown and I was stranded in a hotel.

My colleagues were messaging me about the Covid-19 pandemic and how busy the wards were. I felt useless and thought， “I should be doing something right now.”

It sounds weird to describe it as a fear of missing out， but I had a strong sense I wanted to be part of the effort to beat Covid. The country was in the middle of an emergency， and it was the right time to hang up my crown for a while.

The transition from beauty queen to medic again was seamless because in my head I knew why I was coming back. The world had changed in the space of just a week.

Forming close bonds

At the beginning， when we were all unsure where it was all heading， the clapping for the NHS was an amazing， emotional thing. I was just doing my job， but suddenly everyone was on our side.

As a result， I formed such a close bond with my colleagues at Pilgrim Hospital. Im quite an introverted person， and wasnt expecting to go to work and find such a genuine set of friends.

Some even came to watch me compete in Miss World， and because of the fight against the virus， weve become even closer.

I wrote a poem called Invisible Halo about the unceasing work of the staff， how we support each other， and “fallen heroes” wed lost during the pandemic.

We turned it into a film featuring staff at the hospital， to celebrate their duty， dedication and sacrifice. It closes with them taking turns to wear my crown， symbolising that all NHS workers are heroes.

Since then Ive moved on to the Royal Derby Hospital. I work on the urology ward， but when youre on call any of us can spend time on the Covid wards.

Life is a mix of 12-hour day and night shifts and weekends on call.

While youre caring for other people， your own health comes last. Of course， some days Im tired and Ill eat the wrong things， and wearing masks makes you prone to breakouts.

Everything I do—skincare， diet and exercise—I try to do mindfully， for the long term.

When the gyms were closed， I did online workouts instead. I use Cetuem products on my face， which are made with gold， and my mum Mita， who I live with， cooks me lovely fresh food. I try to heal from the inside.

Like everyone， Im looking forward to this year being a fresh start. Due to the pandemic， the Miss England finals have been postponed until April， so Im now the longest-serving winner.

Im hoping once the travel ban is lifted， Ill be able to do more charity work as the reigning Miss England.

Ive been able to show that being a beauty queen means so much more now.

Im proud to represent England as well as celebrate my Indian heritage， and while my long-term goal is to be a GP， Im keen to use my platform to educate people on preventative health care for conditions like Type 2 diabetes or heart disease.

As the Miss England slogan says， its all about beauty with a purpose.

2019年7月，在我贏得英格蘭小姐選美冠軍的第二天，我突然間回到現(xiàn)實世界。我剛從諾丁漢大學(xué)畢業(yè)，第一天到林肯郡波士頓的朝圣者醫(yī)院當初級醫(yī)生。

慶祝派對很晚才結(jié)束，然后我拖著所有的行李——英格蘭小姐的行頭、工作服，還有裝在特制包裝盒里的新桂冠——去趕凌晨4點從紐卡斯爾開往波士頓的火車。

我試圖把精力集中在入職上，但我的電話一直響，電子郵件接連不斷。一天下來，我的腳上起了一個大水泡，離開醫(yī)院時只穿了一只鞋。

我不知道在樓外等候的媒體記者是怎么想的。我心想：“當上英格蘭小姐真是不容易！”

但是，在榮膺英國第一位南亞裔英格蘭小姐的歷程中，這種生活已經(jīng)成為常態(tài)。我要設(shè)法兼顧好學(xué)勤奮的一面和其他興趣愛好——十多歲時的舞蹈和現(xiàn)在的模特。

我一直都很獨立，穿梭于全國各地參加比賽和試鏡。有一年，我考試成績不好，父親建議我暫停模特工作。

那時候，我告訴自己，“如果我想做一件事，就必須把另一件事做好。為了能跳舞或做模特，我必須先把學(xué)業(yè)搞好”。

我9歲時，父母從印度加爾各答移居英國。他們總是告訴我，找一份切合實際的工作非常重要。

父母希望我從醫(yī)。在亞洲家庭中，醫(yī)生是受人尊敬的職業(yè)。但從個人角度說，我也想從事學(xué)術(shù)工作。做一名醫(yī)生能讓你時刻打起精神，我也喜歡幫助別人解決問題的那種感覺。

努力有所作為

雖然選美冠軍和醫(yī)生似乎毫不相關(guān)，但是在某些方面，我去參加選美比賽和做醫(yī)生是一樣的。

我想要一個平臺展示自己。我看到許多成功女性跨出選美行業(yè)，在各自領(lǐng)域闖出一片天地。

一開始，我并沒有參加英格蘭小姐比賽的想法。少數(shù)族裔女性參加這種比賽會很麻煩，在她們代表著哪個人群的問題上也許會遭遇身份認同危機——后來有一天，“英格蘭小姐亞洲面孔”主辦方聯(lián)系到我。

我贏了這場比賽，并由此開始進軍英格蘭小姐大賽。

選美比賽不斷革新。這次英格蘭小姐比賽取消了泳裝環(huán)節(jié)，引入創(chuàng)新元素，要求我們都穿上同樣的服裝，完全素顏出場。

為了去試鏡動輒花幾千美元做造型，但選美比賽中不是每個人都能這么做。這場比賽是展示真實的自己，是一種解放。

當然，決賽時，你要穿上華麗的晚禮服，但最后評判的依據(jù)是決賽選手們幾個月來的辛苦付出。

雖然感覺良好，但是我沒想到會贏。當你看到所有參賽佳麗們的水準時，你會信心大跌，但依然會全力以赴。我的成功來得太突然，感覺很不真實。

我繼續(xù)工作了兩個月，接下來申請了間隔年，專注于2019年12月在倫敦舉辦的“世界小姐”大賽，并且周游世界。

一時間，我乘飛機穿梭于世界各地，從土耳其到非洲，到印度。我當時并不知道，6個月后生活會再次發(fā)生翻天覆地的變化。

當新冠疫情剛開始肆虐時，我身在印度，準備開啟亞洲之旅。當時封城，我被困在一家酒店。

我的同事給我發(fā)疫情的相關(guān)信息，告訴我醫(yī)院里忙得不可開交。我感覺自己毫無用處，我想，“我現(xiàn)在應(yīng)該做些什么。”

把那種感覺稱之為害怕錯失，聽起來會有些奇怪。但是我有一種強烈的愿望，我想成為抗擊疫情的一分子。我的國家處于危難之中，是時候把我的桂冠先放一放了。

從選美冠軍到醫(yī)生，兩種角色無縫銜接，因為我深知我為什么要回國。短短一周的時間，這個世界改變了。

建立親密關(guān)系

起初，我們并不知道疫情的發(fā)展趨勢。人們都在為英國國民保健制度（NHS）點贊稱好，我們感到驚喜又激動。我只是在做分內(nèi)工作，突然間得到所有人的認可。

因此，我與朝圣者醫(yī)院的同事們建立了非常親密的關(guān)系。我個性內(nèi)斂，從未想過在工作中會結(jié)識這樣一群真誠的朋友。

甚至有些朋友來看我參加“世界小姐”大賽。由于共同抗擊疫情，我們的關(guān)系更為親密。

我寫了一首詩，名為《無形的光環(huán)》，描寫醫(yī)務(wù)人員的堅持不懈、相互扶持，以及我們在疫情期間失去的“倒下的英雄”。

我們把這首詩拍成了影片，主角都是醫(yī)院的醫(yī)務(wù)人員，以此歌頌他們的敬業(yè)、奉獻和犧牲。最后一幕，他們輪流戴上我的桂冠，象征著所有NHS員工都是英雄。

從那以后，我去了皇家德比醫(yī)院，在泌尿外科病房工作。但是只要有需要，我們?nèi)魏稳硕伎梢噪S時到新冠肺炎病房效力。

每天的生活都是白班和夜班12小時輪換，周末也是隨叫隨到。

只顧著照顧別人的時候，自己的身體健康往往會被置之腦后。當然，有時候我會疲憊不堪，會吃錯東西，長時間戴口罩也容易讓人生皮疹。

皮膚護理、合理飲食、鍛煉身體，所有這些事情我都堅持長期用心去做。

健身房關(guān)閉了，我就通過網(wǎng)絡(luò)鍛煉。我使用含黃金成分的Cetuem護膚品。我的母親米塔和我住在一起，她會給我做新鮮的美食。我試著由內(nèi)而外慢慢恢復(fù)。

和所有人一樣，我期待著今年有一個全新的開始。受疫情影響，英格蘭小姐決賽推遲到4月份，所以我目前是保留頭銜時間最長的英格蘭小姐冠軍。

我希望旅行禁令解除后，我能夠以本屆英格蘭小姐的身份做更多慈善工作。

我已經(jīng)證明，現(xiàn)在做一名選美冠軍的含義今非昔比。

能夠代表英國，同時展現(xiàn)我的印度特色，我非常驕傲。我的長期目標是成為一名全科醫(yī)生，我希望通過我的平臺教人們?nèi)绾晤A(yù)防2型糖尿病或心臟病等疾病。

正如英格蘭小姐大賽的口號所說，美麗皆有意義。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎?wù)撸?/p>