Snow fell again in bonnie Elgin today, covering the already icy, yet gradually clearing, pavements and roads with another thick carpet of frosty whiteness. The sort of snow with the perfect consistency for snowball making.
So when my mate Judith and me rounded the corner of the Red Cross car park tonight and saw our boss scraping the snow from the pathway, we knew it was time for some snowball madness.
Slyly, we approached him, hiding our icy ammo behind our backs.
Then when he wasn't looking... bam! Snowball attack =]
We got him good, but he had a shovel and got me back twice as good.
That makes it sound like he hit me with it. That's not the case, as I'm sure you'll be glad to hear; rather he just scooped up a whole heap of snow and catapulted it over me. So it wasn't that bad.
Later on round two commenced, but this time over the bonnet of an ambulance.
Yes, maybe this is gross misuse of RC property, but it made a really good defence line to hide behind.
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
Monday, 9 February 2009
Blast from the past
Yesterday (that's Sunday for future readers) was the day for the Half Marathon between RAF Kinloss and RAF Lossiemouth. Despite snow and ice, the show still went on, and surprisingly it did so very successfully.
Yes, despite the cold, the icy puddles, the snowy pavements and ungritted roads, people still ran through the countryside for, in my opinion, some inexplicable reason other than to top their last running time, which is, of course, very important.
And did we get any casualties?
No.
I'm not sure how it happened, so don't ask. Just ponder about it yourself as to how almost 173 runners reached the finish line unscathed after battling a frosty winterland.
Although saying that, the sun was shining, the day was dry and clear, and if you skirted around the ice I'm sure it was an ace day for running. It was equally an ace day for sitting in a toasty ER vehicle, or in a warm gym hall, waiting for the non-existent casualties to appear.
I remember the same thing happening last year actually, without all the snow and ice. And this year we got soup and muffins to snack on, rather than left overs of mouldy sandwiches and squidgy doughnuts. And a fact is that the run was held a week earlier than last year, because I'm sure it was on the 17th of February last year, rather than the 8th.
I remember such a thing for random reasons.
However the people who show face at such events never change. I certainly saw a couple of people who I recognised, who I don't think recognised me.
Although I don't think I've changed that much in the space of a year, have I?
^ Me & my best bud in the Gym hall, highlighting the fact that her new haircut is somewhat like mine, but a bit longer. She was trying to grope my ass the whole way through that photo shoot, hence her cheeky grin.
Sunday, 8 February 2009
Ghostly sirens...
Thunder growls in the distance.
The skies are thick with cloud, the darkness of night shrouding the valley in mystery.
Suddenly a crash of lightening splits the sky, and illuminates the stones walls of an ancient castle, looming through the dark as eerily as Dracula’s Transylvanian home...
...Actually, that’s a bit of an exaggeration. Let me put it into a better context. It was dark and gloomy, and the rain did dribble down the front windscreen of our mini bus as we approached Carbisdale’s stone walls, but there was no thunderstorm...which was a pity, because it would have really added to the effect of the scene.
Carbisdale Castle is located in the rolling valleys of Sutherland, or in other terms, is sitting in the middle of nowhere amidst the Scottish Highlands. It’s beautiful and vast scenery – with spacious accommodation within the Castle walls – makes it the ideal place to drag about a hundred first aiders across the North of Scotland for a weekend of Emergency Response training, a belated Burns Supper, and a ceidlih. Now that I’ve done my bit of holiday hotspot guiding (I should go into the brochure industry!) I’ll tell you about what really happened during this entertaining weekend.
Our first achievement was actually reaching the place. From our Elgin office came a fleet of four vehicles; two Red Cross ER vehicles, and two Arnold Clark hired mini buses slotted in between for a good balance. We drove along to Inverness, picked up a further three ER vehicles from our BRC depot on the outskirts of the “Gateway to the Highlands,” and drove on up through the Highlands into the county of Sutherland. Our brave minibus driver/ fellow first aider navigated the twisting roads with great skill (after stalling three times) but despite there being a RC ambo parked outside the entrance to the Castle grounds, we still managed to drive three miles beyond the gates. Ok, this was the fault of our leading vehicle, but let’s not point the finger of blame here. It only meant that a convoy of seven large vehicles ranging from 4x4s to ambulances had to somehow turn around in a single track road – using only a passing place and narrow field entrance – and make their way back down the road to the gates. This might explain why we eventually reached Carbisdale at 9pm rather than an hour or so earlier, and therefore missed supper...
Anyway, we made it, and after being allocated rooms – all of which varied in temperature because three out of the seven ancient boilers which heated the now-youth-hostel were broken – we slept through to Saturday morning. When a fiery dawn broke over the distant hills, each first aider arose to fight for a freezing shower, grab a proper greasy breakfast, and generally mingle.
There were many first aid groups there, the largest possibly being from Inverness. Then of course there was us (the Elgin crew) and Aberdeen. From in between our cities there came many other smaller groups, but all Red Cross first aiders none-the-less, all equally as passionate about the job as the next crew, and all raring for the day’s workshops to kick off.
Both Saturday and Sunday consisted of planned workshops, taking place in different locations in and around the castle grounds. They varied from splint workshops, to “casualty packaging” to Swift Water Rescue training for the swifties present amongst the gang. Then of course there was the chance to get bloodied up for casualty scenarios, and an opportunity to order some people about via radios during the Communications workshop. There were a few talks on the go too, with one being on First Aid in Water, and Water Awareness, and Time Critical Interventions (coupled with a chance to play about in the Field Hospital unit) and a different one based on ER Logistics, which was surprisingly interesting and good fun. All this and more were spread out over the two days, and somehow we managed to slip lunch and supper time in between. As I said before, we arranged a belated Burns Supper for Saturday night (yum, haggis, neaps and tatties time!) and a ceidlih to follow, which carried on way into the early hours of the morning and was fuelled mainly by a slight presence of alcohol... Even first aiders have to unwind some how!
However, all good things must come to an end, and after a fun-filled, highly educational weekend, Sunday afternoon came and with it came home time. We piled ourselves back into our respective buses, ambulances, 4x4s and other ER vehicles of different origins, and set off for home.
That night, the moment my head touched the pillow of my own snug bed, I was dead to the world; yes, it was that tiring. But on reflection now I can see just what an amazing weekend it had been. It was fun, yes, and admittedly it allowed for a lot of banter, some sober, and some...otherwise... Yet on a serious note, the weekend gave everyone there the opportunity to meet new people and learn new skills, as well as develop the old ones. Every workshop was educational and fun, allowing for everyone to join in and get to grips on how to deal with certain situations, as well as how to handle the equipment and know when to use it. I can safely say I have come home with a lot more knowledge of first aid and Emergency Response workings than I had before hand. I’ve gained new experiences, met – and made friends with – new people, and have strengthened the bonds with those of my own group (ah, I love cheesy conclusions).
But really, training weekends like Carbisdale are so important in topping up your knowledge stores and increasing the relations between the different branches. It means that when it comes to working together (cue another cheesy sum-up) it means we can do so with confidence and understanding of one another’s abilities and experiences, and maintain that sense of friendship with them. It’s beneficial for us, and for those we help, so we need training weekends like Carbisdale.
It’s not just for the drink, honest.
The amber glow of the fiery sky on Saturday morning.
Carbisdale's eerie front, with it's old clock tower watching over the car park. Sinister...
One of the ER vehicles and the entrance in the background. Notice my camera skills as the rear end of the vehicle is perfectly in line with the vertical of the tower =]
I took this picture, and liked it.
The skies are thick with cloud, the darkness of night shrouding the valley in mystery.
Suddenly a crash of lightening splits the sky, and illuminates the stones walls of an ancient castle, looming through the dark as eerily as Dracula’s Transylvanian home...
...Actually, that’s a bit of an exaggeration. Let me put it into a better context. It was dark and gloomy, and the rain did dribble down the front windscreen of our mini bus as we approached Carbisdale’s stone walls, but there was no thunderstorm...which was a pity, because it would have really added to the effect of the scene.
Carbisdale Castle is located in the rolling valleys of Sutherland, or in other terms, is sitting in the middle of nowhere amidst the Scottish Highlands. It’s beautiful and vast scenery – with spacious accommodation within the Castle walls – makes it the ideal place to drag about a hundred first aiders across the North of Scotland for a weekend of Emergency Response training, a belated Burns Supper, and a ceidlih. Now that I’ve done my bit of holiday hotspot guiding (I should go into the brochure industry!) I’ll tell you about what really happened during this entertaining weekend.
Our first achievement was actually reaching the place. From our Elgin office came a fleet of four vehicles; two Red Cross ER vehicles, and two Arnold Clark hired mini buses slotted in between for a good balance. We drove along to Inverness, picked up a further three ER vehicles from our BRC depot on the outskirts of the “Gateway to the Highlands,” and drove on up through the Highlands into the county of Sutherland. Our brave minibus driver/ fellow first aider navigated the twisting roads with great skill (after stalling three times) but despite there being a RC ambo parked outside the entrance to the Castle grounds, we still managed to drive three miles beyond the gates. Ok, this was the fault of our leading vehicle, but let’s not point the finger of blame here. It only meant that a convoy of seven large vehicles ranging from 4x4s to ambulances had to somehow turn around in a single track road – using only a passing place and narrow field entrance – and make their way back down the road to the gates. This might explain why we eventually reached Carbisdale at 9pm rather than an hour or so earlier, and therefore missed supper...
Anyway, we made it, and after being allocated rooms – all of which varied in temperature because three out of the seven ancient boilers which heated the now-youth-hostel were broken – we slept through to Saturday morning. When a fiery dawn broke over the distant hills, each first aider arose to fight for a freezing shower, grab a proper greasy breakfast, and generally mingle.
There were many first aid groups there, the largest possibly being from Inverness. Then of course there was us (the Elgin crew) and Aberdeen. From in between our cities there came many other smaller groups, but all Red Cross first aiders none-the-less, all equally as passionate about the job as the next crew, and all raring for the day’s workshops to kick off.
Both Saturday and Sunday consisted of planned workshops, taking place in different locations in and around the castle grounds. They varied from splint workshops, to “casualty packaging” to Swift Water Rescue training for the swifties present amongst the gang. Then of course there was the chance to get bloodied up for casualty scenarios, and an opportunity to order some people about via radios during the Communications workshop. There were a few talks on the go too, with one being on First Aid in Water, and Water Awareness, and Time Critical Interventions (coupled with a chance to play about in the Field Hospital unit) and a different one based on ER Logistics, which was surprisingly interesting and good fun. All this and more were spread out over the two days, and somehow we managed to slip lunch and supper time in between. As I said before, we arranged a belated Burns Supper for Saturday night (yum, haggis, neaps and tatties time!) and a ceidlih to follow, which carried on way into the early hours of the morning and was fuelled mainly by a slight presence of alcohol... Even first aiders have to unwind some how!
However, all good things must come to an end, and after a fun-filled, highly educational weekend, Sunday afternoon came and with it came home time. We piled ourselves back into our respective buses, ambulances, 4x4s and other ER vehicles of different origins, and set off for home.
That night, the moment my head touched the pillow of my own snug bed, I was dead to the world; yes, it was that tiring. But on reflection now I can see just what an amazing weekend it had been. It was fun, yes, and admittedly it allowed for a lot of banter, some sober, and some...otherwise... Yet on a serious note, the weekend gave everyone there the opportunity to meet new people and learn new skills, as well as develop the old ones. Every workshop was educational and fun, allowing for everyone to join in and get to grips on how to deal with certain situations, as well as how to handle the equipment and know when to use it. I can safely say I have come home with a lot more knowledge of first aid and Emergency Response workings than I had before hand. I’ve gained new experiences, met – and made friends with – new people, and have strengthened the bonds with those of my own group (ah, I love cheesy conclusions).
But really, training weekends like Carbisdale are so important in topping up your knowledge stores and increasing the relations between the different branches. It means that when it comes to working together (cue another cheesy sum-up) it means we can do so with confidence and understanding of one another’s abilities and experiences, and maintain that sense of friendship with them. It’s beneficial for us, and for those we help, so we need training weekends like Carbisdale.
It’s not just for the drink, honest.
The amber glow of the fiery sky on Saturday morning.
Carbisdale's eerie front, with it's old clock tower watching over the car park. Sinister...
One of the ER vehicles and the entrance in the background. Notice my camera skills as the rear end of the vehicle is perfectly in line with the vertical of the tower =]
I took this picture, and liked it.
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