On the shores of Loch Lomond

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Well here it is...our return to the real world. Adam has now started work at Leeds University and is loving being back in the lab. His work colleagues are very friendly and have been welcoming which has been a lovely bonus. Meanwhile, I myself have started work too! After a total of seven sleeps in Leeds. I’ve whisked myself off to Scotland to take a six week locum in an acute stroke unit. I’m working at a small district hospital in Alexandria which is 40 minutes west of Glasgow. I must confess it is quite sobering to be returning to work after the amazing break we’ve had, not to mention trying to muddle my way through a foreign health system! But having been here a few weeks now, I’m beginning to get the hang of it all. The Scottish folk themselves are an absolute delight. They are warm and jovial and very welcoming. I spent my first week here barely able to understand a word that was being spoken (the accent is so thick and even harder to understand when a joke is being told or a laugh being had-as is often the case!). My poor comprehension was made all the worse given the caseload I’m working with who are known to have speech and communication difficulties themselves! But alas, I’ve finally fine tuned my ear to the Scottish tongue and at last can catch the jokes and join in the fun that is often being had on the wards at work.
Just a stone’s throw away from where I’m working (and living at present!) is the shoes of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. The area is absolutely beautiful, especially when you make it down to the Loch in time for sunset where the whole place is lit with a thousand yellow and orangey hues. Its breathtaking (I’m also told sunrise is amazing but have not been up early enough yet to catch it!). There is a massive parkland area right beside the lake which is filled with fellow tourists on the weekend and a market happens there too selling amazing baklava and Turkish delight! It’s a really lovely part of the world-and the Scots seem to have a true appreciation of just how lucky they are.

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