One More Time

Fate must have been reading my blog, because it threw one more first aid duty my way today.
Actually, for being such a small duty - Lhanbryde Gala - it was a really good one.
It was just Caitlind and me, along with the mighty micra, which was yet again stacked with a grab bag, bum bags and a blanket. We were both incredibly tired, having had a fun-filled night out on the town, mingling in the pubs and dancing in Downtown, and generally consuming large amounts of alcohol despite knowing we had a duty the very next day. Thankfully it didn't start until 1pm, so we had a recovery period that morning. Else we would have been the ones needing first aid.

So, what happens at Lhanbryde Gala I hear you ask?
Not a lot really, but the people were lovely and the organisers were more than accommodating, even supplying us with a room as a first aid post, and a sign to stick on the sliding door with our BRC logo on it. Ok, so that's meant to be standard at every event if we don't have an ambo to hide in, but it doesn't always happen.
We were also free to ask for tea or coffee, and the odd homebake on the side, courtesy of the local Girl Guides group.
And typically of Caitlind and me, we made ourselves another reputation with the people of Lhanbryde. As if browsing the stalls and buying ice cream wasn't enough, we even had to join in with the performances. Seemingly this is imprinted in our contracts, according to one very nice organiser. We told her we'd charge more if we got involved, as we'd be providing the afternoon's entertainment as well as first aid cover!
But as sod's law would have it, the lead dancer of the line dancing group was overly determined to get us involved, and on the third and final attempt, I decided we should humor him and every other spectator in the hall.
So we - the only pair of numpties in uniform - got up in front of the crowds and line danced too, much to the delight of everyone else, including every OAP and belly dancer, girl guide and pipe band member, raffle ticket seller and family group in the hall. I think we conjured up a fair few laughs!

After this, we retreated rather hastily to our room and played down our public humiliation, which had actually been really good fun. The dancing instructor even came in to thank us for our participation, saying it had been great.
Perhaps some people take it too seriously and believe we must be professional when working on every duty. But it can do a lot for the crowds to get involved in the action - it gave them a laugh, and it livened up our otherwise relatively uneventful duty. As our organiser friend said, it's all about the community spirit. Its great when you can be a part of that, as though that's another asset you contribute to the event.

It was a fine wee duty in the end; short and easy, with no casualties to deal with and a good cup of tea to warm us up. I enjoyed it, and I think it's a fine one to finish on for the time being.

I think the boss should bump up the charges when Caitlind and me are sent out to cover a duty - as we joked about before, and yet in all seriousness, you get first class entertainment as well as first aid.