By yon bonnie banks

Remarkably, I’ve had a few days off! Four, in fact, from tuesday to friday. I am a happy bunny.

On tuesday I went to see a show at the festival with a friend from church (yes! I have friends from church now!), then I did a lot of rather frustrating online training stuff which is due for monday (yes, all you med students out there, even once you have reached the hallowed goal of doctorhood medical training is still a box-ticking exercise) including a pharmacy tutorial thing which is marked by a pharmacist and the results of which go to your tutor – it took me AGES and was pretty tough but I got like 92% so it can’t have been that hard! I hope the pass mark is less than 90%…

On wednesday I went through to Glasgow to pick up a friend who I haven’t seen for a year – it’s not that we are lazy or bad at keeping in touch or that we don’t like each other any more, it’s just that she was in Japan for a year and it’s hard to meet up regularly with someone who lives on the other side of the world. Not impossible, but certainly more difficult than if she lived just down the road. Anyway. We set off in the car for a wee road trip to Loch Lomond, and, believe it or not, it was a glorious day! Possibly the first since April. We climbed up a hill and surveyed the views while eating strawberries, we went out for lunch, we chatted about lots of things, we got lost a few times (she’s not the best map-reader in the world but we were in no rush and I love her anyway), we drove on a lot of roads which look like this but with forrest and hills, we stayed in a B&B run by a lovely man with a Highland accent (consequently I will always associate that region with Highland accents, although they are all Weegies), we pottered about a bit more and rated each town on their facilities (Aberfoyle, lose 10 points for not having a chippy but gain 20 for having nice toilets, Callander gain 10 points for having an excellent chippy, Crianlarich lose lots of points for having nothing! Though I gather the station restaurant is nice…), then we went home again. It was a great trip.

Last night I went on a work night out which was a bit of a let-down, especially given that only 3 of us turned up, plus one more from another ward – grrr at my registrar who organised the whole thing and then didn’t come, I love him a little less now. Today I have finished off the annoying training thing, and tonight am having a family dinner with, you’ve guessed it, my family. The parents are departing on Sunday which might be a bit of a shock, since they have spoiled me rotten by doing all my washing and making me food to take with me while I’m at work, not to mention picking me up after particularly long shifts!

I’ll leave you with another picture which my friend took yesterday and which apparently sums me up in a nutshell…though I think a stethoscope should be added for completeness!