We're Back in Business!

A whole new year of Red Cross duties... Here we go again!

But God, how I've missed it. It's not until you slip back into the ol' blue boilersuit and fight to get your boots back on and tied properly that you realise just how much you've missed the excitement and sometimes right waste of time that comes with being on first aid duty.

So far there have been three duties, with a fourth to come this approaching Sunday, but first let's reflect on the joys of the events so far...

Saturday 1oth

The Burghead Clavie. Yes, we have returned to the very beginning of all RC annual duties. You know it's the New Year for real when the Clavie comes back round again. It was very much the singed uniform again, rather like last year, but in fact it was probably worse this year.

You see, Ronnie was team leader, which meant he was in charge of pairing us up for the duty. it was all fine and dandy at first, until someone pointed out the highly precious and non-fire-resistant material that makes up the £400 Emergency Response jackets. You'd think ER jackets would be fire-retardent... I'm sure they are, but there you go; don't argue with the boss...

So, because muggins doesn't have a fancy-pants 400-pounds-worth piece of material to drape over my shoulders (yet) I was put at the front of the parade with John, who was feeling my pain too, and told that if the tar and embers from the burning stack messed up our hi vis it wouldn't matter as much.

Well, it wasn't those exact words, but it was something to the effect. It wouldn't be a lot of money down the drain anyway. Maybe I should've worn my own version of the highly expensive ER jacket - something resembling a large neon-yellow potato sack - and tried to burn it. Then it would've given an excuse to get me a nice, snug, tailored one sooner. Why do you only think of the good ideas ages after the time it was needed?

So John and me flanked the clavie all the way through the little fishing village, right up to its resting place on top of the hill that once was part of an old pictish fort. The moment the smouldering barrel crumbles and sets the hill alight, the moment the people of Burghead rejoice, and welcome in the pictish new year with great enthusiasm, before buggering off to the pub for celebratory beers. A pleasure we, as on-duty first aiders, long to join in with, but can't.

Instead, our version of celebrating was far more entertaining, standing out in the cold and being arranged in certain formations so Caitlind could use her arty-farty photography talents and snap pictures of our illuminated backs on her camera. Yes, our backs. I mean, we're nae such a bad looking bunch... really...

Actually, in agreement with another first aider, it was somewhat like a Red Cross outing, what with getting 'holiday' snaps and so on.

Anyway, it was a good, albeit cold, night. I actually love the Clavie, just cos it kicks start the first aiding mood all over again, even though - and this is surprising - we never seem to get any casualties.

This is what the ER team really get up to...

In a line, ladies and gents...

Sunday 11th and Monday 12th

It's blood donor time!

Possibly the one duty which purely shows our good nature as volunteers, rather than our first aiding skills. Although on Monday night, we did assist one of the nurses in helping a poor lassie who nearly passed out on the table. That got the adrenaline going a bit, all for about... oooh, 2.5 seconds?

Still, at least she was alright, what with several cups of orange juice being delivered to her by the minute, and with her feet in elavation for a lengthy period of time.

The rest of the duty was taken up by mine and Caitlind's continual rants and ramblings, Caitlind's need ro rearrange the cups in nice neat rows according to flavour of juice (and my interference when I made a Red Cross symbol out of the blackcurrant juice cups) and the odd game of "I Spy," the latter of these games going something along the lines of:

"I spy with my little eye, something beginning with....... J."

"Oh no, we're nae playing that again....... Jug?

And a little while later, after "I Spy" had worn off, I killed time by constantly trying to remember which four other emergency services use blue lights on their vehicles. This went something along the lines of:

"Ok, there's four of them... So, there's coastguard, blood transfusion, bomb disposal... coastguard, blood transfusion, bomb disposal... there's coastguard, blood transfusion, bomb disposal... coastguard, blood transfusion, bomb disposal... coastguard, blood transfusion, bomb disposal..." (and so on...)

Then, two hours later after the duty, Caitlind receives this text:

"Mountain Rescue!!!"

Yes, I love duties.

Before...

After...