Post by krissie on Jul 8, 2007 15:09:50 GMT -5
A friend of mine and her dog came through to visit for a few days at the end of last week. We had our weekend carefully planned, and we'd been looking forward to this for weeks.
The idea was that we would meet at my place on Thursday, at lunchtime; I'd booked a day and a half off work, so we could have a long weekend together. I was to take on the role of designated driver and head to Oban (small town on the west coast of Scotland) to catch the four o'clock ferry to Mull. From the ferry port on Mull, we'd then head on up to a hotel, which was on the north west coast of the island.
Then, we'd planned, we'd have a nice, relaxing meal, have a relaxing, pottering-around, sight-seeing day on Friday, relaxing evening in the hotel with more food on Friday night, then a nice relaxing, pottering-around, sight-seeing day on Saturday, before catching a late afternoon ferry back to Oban.
Ah, the best laid plans...
As planned, we had a very good, relaxing (etc etc) meal on Thursday, then went out to walk the dog. We walked down the road from the hotel towards a very gorgeous, white beach, and decided to cut across a short strip of grass to reach the sand.
We both slipped over on the grass. We both stood up. We laughed.
Then my friend slipped again. And...
Suffice to say, first thing next morning, my friend said, "I think I need to go to a doctor," and she held up her poor, misshapen and swollen wrist. This was definitely not a simple sprain as we'd thought / hoped the night before.
I talked to the person who was serving breakfast -- a Chinese-looking girl. She said that there was a hospital in Tobermory, so friend, dog and I all piled into the car and set off. (Very bendy road... Lots of sheep, none of which possessed any road sense.)
There was no hospital in Tobermory, which makes me think that maybe there had been some kind of translation problem back at the hotel. Supposedly there is a doctor's surgery there, but what we wanted was an Accident and Emergency department.
After talking to someone waiting at a bus stop, we found out that the Accident and Emergency unit was actually in Salen, about eleven miles further on. So we went there.
The charge nurse took one look at my friend's wrist and said, "Yes. I'm pretty certain you've broken that. We'll have to take X-rays."
Now, because this was a very small hospital, both the radiologist and the doctor had to be called in. So that took time. X-rays confirmed that friend's wrist was -- yes -- broken. Plus, the ends of the bones were displaced, and the break couldn't be reset on Mull. So my friend had to be referred to Oban A&E.
And we had to get there as soon as possible.
Which meant we had to catch the next ferry, which was at three o'clock.
In turn, that meant that we didn't have time to go back to the hotel and pack our stuff. And that meant we'd have to go back to Mull that night, rather than cutting our trip short and heading straight back to my house.
So...
We went back to Oban, where we spent a good four hours in A&E, where my friend had her bones manipulated back into position and a full cast put on. I gather she was given some very good drugs! Plus, the doctor was great and did a fantastic job of realigning the bones. (I've seen the x-rays.) Then we had to wait until half past ten to get the late ferry back to Mull. Mind you, at least there is a late ferry on a Friday! Any other day, and we'd have had to wait until the next morning.
Back on Mull, we had an hour's drive back up to the hotel, playing dodge the sheep in the dark. (Their eyes glow yellow in cars' headlights. Did you know that? And, did you know that sheep like sleeping on tarmac... in the middle of roads? I didn't, but I do now.) Finally got back to the hotel at about half past midnight...
Yesterday, we slept in late, missed breakfast, then had to go back to the hospital in Salen so friend could have the circulation in her fingers checked. (The folks in Oban had told us to do this; there wasn't actually any problem.) Also, the charge nurse there had been so wonderful the day before, we'd wanted to drop off some chocolates as a thank you. She'd gone beyond the requirements of her job for us, including getting us a travel warrant for the ferry and making sure that we were booked on ahead of time. The warrant meant we only had to pay a fraction of the normal fare for the car and the two passengers (plus dog).
Then, and only then, did we finally manage to go for a drive and do a little scenery spotting, yesterday afternoon.
Five o'clock ferry from Oban, then the drive back to my place... Ah, home.
So... We had a two night stay on Mull, but as things turned out, we spent most of that time in hospitals, including a large chunk of that time on the mainland! As weekends go, not a great success. Mind you, I have to say, the weekend was far less successful for my friend than it was for me! At least I still have the use of both my hands, so I can actually type this.
Oh, and little dog behaved remarkably well. Plus, I discovered that I am perfectly capable of scooping up poop if I absolutely have to! (I ended up doing quite a lot of dog-walking while friend was otherwise occupied or not feeling great.) And I have had a lot of practice driving on and off car ferries!
(Bless Baby, who also behaved in a wonderful fashion. Baby, I should say, is the car. She's become something of a family heirloom, and she's getting on in years. One of these days I'll have to replace her, but I'm putting off the inevitable for as long as possible because I'm so sentimentally attached! Yeah, yeah. I know. Downright pathetic, isn't it?)
Here's an example of a "sheepy" road on Mull.
Also, I've put in a couple of photos to show what most of the roads are like. (And, yes, that is Baby in one of the pictures.
Krissie
The idea was that we would meet at my place on Thursday, at lunchtime; I'd booked a day and a half off work, so we could have a long weekend together. I was to take on the role of designated driver and head to Oban (small town on the west coast of Scotland) to catch the four o'clock ferry to Mull. From the ferry port on Mull, we'd then head on up to a hotel, which was on the north west coast of the island.
Then, we'd planned, we'd have a nice, relaxing meal, have a relaxing, pottering-around, sight-seeing day on Friday, relaxing evening in the hotel with more food on Friday night, then a nice relaxing, pottering-around, sight-seeing day on Saturday, before catching a late afternoon ferry back to Oban.
Ah, the best laid plans...
As planned, we had a very good, relaxing (etc etc) meal on Thursday, then went out to walk the dog. We walked down the road from the hotel towards a very gorgeous, white beach, and decided to cut across a short strip of grass to reach the sand.
We both slipped over on the grass. We both stood up. We laughed.
Then my friend slipped again. And...
Suffice to say, first thing next morning, my friend said, "I think I need to go to a doctor," and she held up her poor, misshapen and swollen wrist. This was definitely not a simple sprain as we'd thought / hoped the night before.
I talked to the person who was serving breakfast -- a Chinese-looking girl. She said that there was a hospital in Tobermory, so friend, dog and I all piled into the car and set off. (Very bendy road... Lots of sheep, none of which possessed any road sense.)
There was no hospital in Tobermory, which makes me think that maybe there had been some kind of translation problem back at the hotel. Supposedly there is a doctor's surgery there, but what we wanted was an Accident and Emergency department.
After talking to someone waiting at a bus stop, we found out that the Accident and Emergency unit was actually in Salen, about eleven miles further on. So we went there.
The charge nurse took one look at my friend's wrist and said, "Yes. I'm pretty certain you've broken that. We'll have to take X-rays."
Now, because this was a very small hospital, both the radiologist and the doctor had to be called in. So that took time. X-rays confirmed that friend's wrist was -- yes -- broken. Plus, the ends of the bones were displaced, and the break couldn't be reset on Mull. So my friend had to be referred to Oban A&E.
And we had to get there as soon as possible.
Which meant we had to catch the next ferry, which was at three o'clock.
In turn, that meant that we didn't have time to go back to the hotel and pack our stuff. And that meant we'd have to go back to Mull that night, rather than cutting our trip short and heading straight back to my house.
So...
We went back to Oban, where we spent a good four hours in A&E, where my friend had her bones manipulated back into position and a full cast put on. I gather she was given some very good drugs! Plus, the doctor was great and did a fantastic job of realigning the bones. (I've seen the x-rays.) Then we had to wait until half past ten to get the late ferry back to Mull. Mind you, at least there is a late ferry on a Friday! Any other day, and we'd have had to wait until the next morning.
Back on Mull, we had an hour's drive back up to the hotel, playing dodge the sheep in the dark. (Their eyes glow yellow in cars' headlights. Did you know that? And, did you know that sheep like sleeping on tarmac... in the middle of roads? I didn't, but I do now.) Finally got back to the hotel at about half past midnight...
Yesterday, we slept in late, missed breakfast, then had to go back to the hospital in Salen so friend could have the circulation in her fingers checked. (The folks in Oban had told us to do this; there wasn't actually any problem.) Also, the charge nurse there had been so wonderful the day before, we'd wanted to drop off some chocolates as a thank you. She'd gone beyond the requirements of her job for us, including getting us a travel warrant for the ferry and making sure that we were booked on ahead of time. The warrant meant we only had to pay a fraction of the normal fare for the car and the two passengers (plus dog).
Then, and only then, did we finally manage to go for a drive and do a little scenery spotting, yesterday afternoon.
Five o'clock ferry from Oban, then the drive back to my place... Ah, home.
So... We had a two night stay on Mull, but as things turned out, we spent most of that time in hospitals, including a large chunk of that time on the mainland! As weekends go, not a great success. Mind you, I have to say, the weekend was far less successful for my friend than it was for me! At least I still have the use of both my hands, so I can actually type this.
Oh, and little dog behaved remarkably well. Plus, I discovered that I am perfectly capable of scooping up poop if I absolutely have to! (I ended up doing quite a lot of dog-walking while friend was otherwise occupied or not feeling great.) And I have had a lot of practice driving on and off car ferries!
(Bless Baby, who also behaved in a wonderful fashion. Baby, I should say, is the car. She's become something of a family heirloom, and she's getting on in years. One of these days I'll have to replace her, but I'm putting off the inevitable for as long as possible because I'm so sentimentally attached! Yeah, yeah. I know. Downright pathetic, isn't it?)
Here's an example of a "sheepy" road on Mull.
Also, I've put in a couple of photos to show what most of the roads are like. (And, yes, that is Baby in one of the pictures.
Krissie
(Ah, glacial landscapes... 
