It has been a full on couple of weeks since I got to Buxton (do I keep saying that about everytime I write on here? this time it is for different reasons!). I've been working for a week and a half and I have just started to feel like I fit in and actually get how this place works. I have managed to avoid going out on large animal calls, which is good as I think that would have been the straw to break the camel's back for me, as my brain has been functioning at maximum capacity just getting into the smallies side of things!
The weather here last week was absoult rubbish - about the same as brisbane in winter, except wet! Several people have happily told me that Buxton enjoys some of the lowest temperatures recorded in England year round because of its altitude, so I am trying very hard not to think about winter. One farmer told me that he didn't let his cows out till the end of May because it was too cold for them (they house all their cows in winter)!
Having said that, it is a very pretty part of the country, I have finally got a car to myself, so I have been able to go for a few drives around the countryside. There are lots of sheep and cattle, and some picturesque valleys and views from tops of hills. I haven't done much walking so far, but there are heaps of people around with backpacks and boots on who seem to be enjoying walking and camping in the area.
Work has been busy, there seem to be a constant flow of very unusual cases over the last couple of weeks. I did surgery on a cat today, which had evidently been shot by an air rifle (no laughing please!) and the pellet had passed through its left kidney, through several loops of intestine, colon, through the opposite abdominal wall where it had lodged itself. After stitching a few of the holes in the gut and attempting the remove the kidney, we put the cat down as it was in a very bad way. I removed a lump from a Gerbil today as well - very exciting that the gerbil is actually still alive! The people are a lot of fun to work with, and quite a young bunch overall, which is nice. I seem to be taking longer to do things at the moment, but I am often having to look up things in books as most trade names of common drugs are different over here (exactly the same packaging, just different name - why do they have to do that?!). There are always different ways of doing the most basic things, which is part of the joys and challenges of doing locum work, and I like learning new ideas. I got my first thank you card today, (from the owner of the afore mentioned Gerbil, who also owns a cat, whose entire digestive system decided to stop working for some reason which we couldn't work out!).
I'm going to the local comedy club on Friday night, and hopefully watching the next England 'football' match on Saturday with a few people from work. I missed the Australia Italy match, but several people have told me that Italy are low life cheats and shouldn't have won!! So I guess I'm over to supporting the poms now, it's such a big deal to so many people, we keep hearing of people getting arrested in germany, and the police are always much more visible near the pubs here after the England games.
I'm no call tonight (please God, no calls!) I almost had to go out last night, but they rang pack to say they'd got the calf out after all - hooray! Better go find some food....................
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Loving London
Ok, you might be a bit confused because I am actually in Buxton, and have just finished my second day of work (sight of relief - it's all a bit different over here!). But being the slightly OCD person that I am , I feel I need to write a bit about London before I can go onto everything else that has been happening!
We got back to London 2 weeks ago on Thursday, and I had some business to do on the Friday, which involved going into Regent St, then walking past Pall Mall, a teh changing of Guard was happening, bypassing Buckingham Palace, to end up just near Big Bena nd the London eye, at the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), where I was officially registered (can't call ourselves doctor over here, but we can but MRCVS after our names which is nearly as cool!). I had another appointment out in Buckinhamshire to set myself up as a Limited Company, then it was back into London to go to the Theatre, where we saw Mama Mia just near Picadilly Circus! It was a really fun musical, and my brother has organised a bottle of Champagne for interval, so we just walked out of the theatre and sat down at a table beside the iceed bottle and poured ourselves a glass - all very classy!! (except the interval was only 10 minutes, so we had to take the rest into the theatre in plastic tumblers!!).
On Saturday we went to some awesome Markets just near Tower Bridge, which has so much yummy gourmet food, it was hard not to salivate just walking around! There was lots of cheese, olive oil, balsamic vineger, pate, and the like to taste as we went around. There was anything from goose liver pate to organic gluten free chocolate brownies (for £4.50 a piece, which is about $10 Aussie!).
After this, we went to a party at the house of a workmate of Tim Porter (a friend from Cromwell College who we stayed with). We met up with another Aussie girl on the way there, and when we got there, we realised we recognised each other and after a lot of thinking, realised we did ballet together in Townsville, and also were in debating teams around the same time!! I knew it was a small world, but it seemed pretty early in the piece to coin the phraze!
The party was for the first England match in the world cup (v Paraguay) and I really quite enjoyed it, to my surprise (I think I was still getting used to the fact I was actually in London watching it I think).
On Saturday night we went into Soho, which is the clubby/alternative part of London (some very interesting fashion trends and body decorations to be seen!) and went to a Pizza cafe that had a Jazz club downstairs and saw a fantastic spanish Jass trio with a great singer and guitarist and bass player. We wandered around Soho for a while, then decided that the best place to be was by the river just near Tim's place, where there is a great view of Tower bridge with St Pauls behind it. So we went there and chatted till the sun came up! (which was 3am, and it only set at 10:30!).
Sunday we checked out Covent Garden and saw some great buskers (a great sting quartet and another guy dressed up as a troll type creature, with crazy facial expressions that were a bit scary). We had a lovely dinner at TIm's place that night. Monday we saw the Tower of London, with a very theatrical tour guide who told us all sorts of interesting stories about the people who died there (Anne Bolyne, and Lady Jane Grey amongst them). It was a bit of a rush to get organised, then I said goodbye to my Bro and Marielle, as they headed to the airport to catch a plane back to Oz. (*sniff*!). I stayed at another friend's place a bit further form the Centre of London for the next couple of days and caught up with a friend from uni and another friend from school who I haven't seen for about 13 years which was great.
I went about an hour south to visit Will and Isa, a friend form uni and his wife, and caught up with Tim, who I flew over with, then he and I went back into London the next day to see another friend from uni who has just got married.
Tim and I ended up in a Pub in Angel, Islington watching the second Football match (england v Trindidad and Tobego), which was great! the atmosphere in the pub was electric, and we got chatting to a few locals, one of whom donated England hats and flags (I told him I wouldn't use them till Australia was knocked out!).
London is great for a visit - don't hink I could live there though. It is really easy to get around on the underground - I wasn't as nervous about it as I thought I would be, and it is so easy to use. They have buskers in some of the stations, but they sound like professionals, anything from opera to cool blues, to mexican to dixiland, it really sets a cool atmosphere as you walk along the tunnels between platforms. the history is amazing (for a colonial such as myself), and the people are really interesting.
So then I caught the train up to Buxton (pron. Bookston) last Friday. I have a lovely housemate, Caroline, who is a nurse at work. I met some of the people form Work on Friday and we have been out to couple of meals already. They are a very sociable bunch which is really nice. More about that later......................
We got back to London 2 weeks ago on Thursday, and I had some business to do on the Friday, which involved going into Regent St, then walking past Pall Mall, a teh changing of Guard was happening, bypassing Buckingham Palace, to end up just near Big Bena nd the London eye, at the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), where I was officially registered (can't call ourselves doctor over here, but we can but MRCVS after our names which is nearly as cool!). I had another appointment out in Buckinhamshire to set myself up as a Limited Company, then it was back into London to go to the Theatre, where we saw Mama Mia just near Picadilly Circus! It was a really fun musical, and my brother has organised a bottle of Champagne for interval, so we just walked out of the theatre and sat down at a table beside the iceed bottle and poured ourselves a glass - all very classy!! (except the interval was only 10 minutes, so we had to take the rest into the theatre in plastic tumblers!!).
On Saturday we went to some awesome Markets just near Tower Bridge, which has so much yummy gourmet food, it was hard not to salivate just walking around! There was lots of cheese, olive oil, balsamic vineger, pate, and the like to taste as we went around. There was anything from goose liver pate to organic gluten free chocolate brownies (for £4.50 a piece, which is about $10 Aussie!).
After this, we went to a party at the house of a workmate of Tim Porter (a friend from Cromwell College who we stayed with). We met up with another Aussie girl on the way there, and when we got there, we realised we recognised each other and after a lot of thinking, realised we did ballet together in Townsville, and also were in debating teams around the same time!! I knew it was a small world, but it seemed pretty early in the piece to coin the phraze!
The party was for the first England match in the world cup (v Paraguay) and I really quite enjoyed it, to my surprise (I think I was still getting used to the fact I was actually in London watching it I think).
On Saturday night we went into Soho, which is the clubby/alternative part of London (some very interesting fashion trends and body decorations to be seen!) and went to a Pizza cafe that had a Jazz club downstairs and saw a fantastic spanish Jass trio with a great singer and guitarist and bass player. We wandered around Soho for a while, then decided that the best place to be was by the river just near Tim's place, where there is a great view of Tower bridge with St Pauls behind it. So we went there and chatted till the sun came up! (which was 3am, and it only set at 10:30!).
Sunday we checked out Covent Garden and saw some great buskers (a great sting quartet and another guy dressed up as a troll type creature, with crazy facial expressions that were a bit scary). We had a lovely dinner at TIm's place that night. Monday we saw the Tower of London, with a very theatrical tour guide who told us all sorts of interesting stories about the people who died there (Anne Bolyne, and Lady Jane Grey amongst them). It was a bit of a rush to get organised, then I said goodbye to my Bro and Marielle, as they headed to the airport to catch a plane back to Oz. (*sniff*!). I stayed at another friend's place a bit further form the Centre of London for the next couple of days and caught up with a friend from uni and another friend from school who I haven't seen for about 13 years which was great.
I went about an hour south to visit Will and Isa, a friend form uni and his wife, and caught up with Tim, who I flew over with, then he and I went back into London the next day to see another friend from uni who has just got married.
Tim and I ended up in a Pub in Angel, Islington watching the second Football match (england v Trindidad and Tobego), which was great! the atmosphere in the pub was electric, and we got chatting to a few locals, one of whom donated England hats and flags (I told him I wouldn't use them till Australia was knocked out!).
London is great for a visit - don't hink I could live there though. It is really easy to get around on the underground - I wasn't as nervous about it as I thought I would be, and it is so easy to use. They have buskers in some of the stations, but they sound like professionals, anything from opera to cool blues, to mexican to dixiland, it really sets a cool atmosphere as you walk along the tunnels between platforms. the history is amazing (for a colonial such as myself), and the people are really interesting.
So then I caught the train up to Buxton (pron. Bookston) last Friday. I have a lovely housemate, Caroline, who is a nurse at work. I met some of the people form Work on Friday and we have been out to couple of meals already. They are a very sociable bunch which is really nice. More about that later......................
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Hiya!
Just to say hi from Buxton, it's been a crazy couple of weeks (have I said that already?) but it has been great to unpack my gear (what little I have!) and not be packing it all up again for a few months! Buxton is beautiful, the whole area is very hilly (looks like it would be pretty bleak in Winter), the people at my work are really friendly, most are around my age, and very sociable, so we have had a couple of meals together already which is really nice. I start work tomorrow, and am feeling a bit nervous about it all! My boss said when I arrived that I was from the land of sheep (I corrected him straight away and said that Australia was not to be confused with New Zealand!). I'll be seeing more sheep than I have in the past so I have a bit of reading to do! Not much time right now, bit will hopefully catch up on what has been happening for the last few days when I get a chance.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
What do you call a fake Emerald - a 'Sham Rock' :)
The last couple of weeks have gone by in a flash!! Our Ireland Trip just kept getting better and better, as we headed up the West coast and over the Northern coast, then back down to Dublin. I can't remember exactly where I was last time I wrote, but I think it was somewhere in the south (think hedgerows, green fields, cows and sheep, ruins of centruies-old castles in the middle of a field, birds singing, quaint towns of whitewashed or brightly coloured terraced houses, very friendly people, overall very pretty). I liked the North even better - the landscape becomes more rugged, with rocky hills, deep Fjords, spectacular cliffs and coastline, gorgeous in the sunny warm weather we had, but clearly would be very bleak in the middle of an Irish Winter. There were more and more sheep, shaggy looking ones, that sometimes decided that the road would be a nice place to sit and chew their cud - which kep us on our toes in the narrow windy roads!
Our hostel experienes were varied, from standard rooms of bunks with all the mod-cons, to the 'Old Millhouse' in Westport, which is a centuries-old stone building with cozy little rooms and friendly staff. My favourite hostel was the 'downhill Hostel' in NortherIreland, run by a Northern Irish guy and his Wife who is from Seattle, and makes beautiful pottery. They have restored an old country house and decorated it with a lovely cozy feel, making it feel more like your relllie's place than an actual hostel! The other great thing about it was that you step out the front door and walk about 10 metres and you are on a beautiful stretch of beach (no, I didn't think of beaches when I thought ofIrleand either, but they are beautiful here in the sunshine!).
Speaking of which, I never did get that surfing lesson. Apart from the fact that we really didn't have time with all the things we were trying to see, apparently the perfect weather we were having is associated with a high pressure system, which is not conducive to decent
swell for surfing!
There is just so much to write on here, and I have to run. I'm in London now, and am heading North to my new place of residence on Friday. I have sent my new address to lots of people, but if you didn't get it, please leave me a comment message or email me, and I'll send it to you (along with my British phone number when I finally get it!).
Our hostel experienes were varied, from standard rooms of bunks with all the mod-cons, to the 'Old Millhouse' in Westport, which is a centuries-old stone building with cozy little rooms and friendly staff. My favourite hostel was the 'downhill Hostel' in NortherIreland, run by a Northern Irish guy and his Wife who is from Seattle, and makes beautiful pottery. They have restored an old country house and decorated it with a lovely cozy feel, making it feel more like your relllie's place than an actual hostel! The other great thing about it was that you step out the front door and walk about 10 metres and you are on a beautiful stretch of beach (no, I didn't think of beaches when I thought ofIrleand either, but they are beautiful here in the sunshine!).
Speaking of which, I never did get that surfing lesson. Apart from the fact that we really didn't have time with all the things we were trying to see, apparently the perfect weather we were having is associated with a high pressure system, which is not conducive to decent
swell for surfing!
There is just so much to write on here, and I have to run. I'm in London now, and am heading North to my new place of residence on Friday. I have sent my new address to lots of people, but if you didn't get it, please leave me a comment message or email me, and I'll send it to you (along with my British phone number when I finally get it!).
Sunday, June 04, 2006
The Emerald Isle
Greetings from Galway!
It has been a crazy trip around Ireland so far, we have crammed in a couple of cool castles, some beautiful stately houses and gardens, a monastic village, where parts Braveheart were filmed, we Kissed the Blarney stone yesterday, saw the cliffs of Moher, drove the Ring of Kerry, and stayed in Galway last night (for those heading this way, I strongly recommend 'Sleepzone' Hostel, really well set up, with free internet!:).
We travelled from Dublin on the first day, then to Kilkenny, Cork, and then Galway. We are off to Westport tonight, then to Donegal, and then up to Northern Ireland.
The scenery is just breathtaking, and consistently so, to the point where you want to see something ugly just for something different! Towns and cities are like pictures from chocolate boxes, with all the shopfronts and pubs well preserved and maintained. It is very different from Australia, in that more modern architecture is quite rare; even all the new housing estates (which seem quite numerous) are being built in the same style as the much older buildings - semidetatched, rendered and whitewashed or brick with slate coloured rooves. It makes the overall effect quite neat, but there is no individuality to the buildings at all, there are streets of exactly identical houses, that are just having the finishing touches put to them.
The people are so friendly - we were at a red light in the middle of Dublin and had the map out, and a guy in a suit walked up to us and asked if we were lost, and wanted any help! Unfortunately that was in stark contrast to a passing guy in Cork who told us to @~&k off back to our own country (he was obviously enebriated, but I realised at that moment that I was a fully fledged tourist - not sure how I feel about that!).
We are off to Connemara today, then up to Donegal, where I might even have my first surfing lesson if the spectacular weather holds up - it is well and truly summer, with sunny days, temps in the early 20s and hardly a cloud to be seen!
It has been a crazy trip around Ireland so far, we have crammed in a couple of cool castles, some beautiful stately houses and gardens, a monastic village, where parts Braveheart were filmed, we Kissed the Blarney stone yesterday, saw the cliffs of Moher, drove the Ring of Kerry, and stayed in Galway last night (for those heading this way, I strongly recommend 'Sleepzone' Hostel, really well set up, with free internet!:).
We travelled from Dublin on the first day, then to Kilkenny, Cork, and then Galway. We are off to Westport tonight, then to Donegal, and then up to Northern Ireland.
The scenery is just breathtaking, and consistently so, to the point where you want to see something ugly just for something different! Towns and cities are like pictures from chocolate boxes, with all the shopfronts and pubs well preserved and maintained. It is very different from Australia, in that more modern architecture is quite rare; even all the new housing estates (which seem quite numerous) are being built in the same style as the much older buildings - semidetatched, rendered and whitewashed or brick with slate coloured rooves. It makes the overall effect quite neat, but there is no individuality to the buildings at all, there are streets of exactly identical houses, that are just having the finishing touches put to them.
The people are so friendly - we were at a red light in the middle of Dublin and had the map out, and a guy in a suit walked up to us and asked if we were lost, and wanted any help! Unfortunately that was in stark contrast to a passing guy in Cork who told us to @~&k off back to our own country (he was obviously enebriated, but I realised at that moment that I was a fully fledged tourist - not sure how I feel about that!).
We are off to Connemara today, then up to Donegal, where I might even have my first surfing lesson if the spectacular weather holds up - it is well and truly summer, with sunny days, temps in the early 20s and hardly a cloud to be seen!
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