October

The Bothy re-opens after a refurbishment.  Tis the best place in Burghead for a coffee and cake and soon to be open evenings (end of Nov).  Newly installed are two pizza ovens so it's looking good to soon be able to sit and have a  nice meal and a few glasses of red!  If you're ever over this way it's well worth a visit.

The Southern end with big log burner.

Northern end and cake supply.

First Monday of the month, it's book club evening.  We've been reading Song of Achilles, a sort of classical Greek story of the Trojan war with a bit of love interest thrown in.  Not exactly my cup of tea but an easy read, some of the bits along with many of the characters from classical Greek mythology were in there, but there was little mention of the well known 'Achilles heel' woven into the story.  After some discussion about who enjoyed the book and why and who didn't and why not we adjourned for the odd glass of red stuff and assorted nibbles.  The book for the following month was completely different, a forensic murder mystery involving a few mummified corpses, the author, Tess Gerritsen, has written a few books along this line with some of them being made into a US TV series.
The monthly reads aren't always things I can get on with but it does widen ones reading horizon!  If I really can't get into any of the books I just choose something I like, after all, life's too short to be ploughing through stuff you just don't like!!  We've read a couple of the Wallander series of Swedish police dramas and are now on '22 Britannia Road', I've been told it's a bit dismal but I'll give it a go and see what I make of it.

Our local Parkinson's Support Group meeting was next on the agenda, Tara French, based in Keith, had studied music and had received funding towards establishing a choir and promoting singing in this area.  Tara had been to one of our meetings before and had us working at some numerical singing exercises (with varying results!), this time she brought two of her choristers along to entertain us before the song sheets were handed out and we all got stuck in!  One of the unfortunate effects of Parkinson's is that some sufferers develop a 'fixed expression and often the vocal chords stiffen causing a voice like an old crow!!  Singing is reckoned to be first class therapy for this stage of the condition.  Successfully completed, the singing was followed by tea and bickies and general chat.

Tara, invisible behind the piano was flanked by her choristers.












The next day was my fifth Zolodex hormone implant and PSA test (oh joy!).  0830, first into the nurses den, paperwork done, syringe with big needle was taken out of its box; ten minutes later the implant had been implanted, blood taken for testing and I was on my way home; twelve weeks and same all over again and every twelve weeks until the Reaper comes knocking!!  (Oops, felt sorry for myself for a few minutes, think I'll go and get my head down and finish this tomorrow).

Thursday morning, 1015, time for a walk up the village to do a quality control on a Bothy coffee and slice of cake!  There is a spell of dirty weather on for a couple of days so its a chance to reply to some of those long overdue e-mails I keep meaning to answer.
I must checkout more coffee shops to find a barista who can do a coffee like this!!

Saturday brought some half decent weather so a late breakfast, a long walk down the beach and then up to the Bothy for a bowl of  soup.

Sunday and off to Aviemore to provide some of the medical cover for a charity half marathon.  get there early to find a parking spot not too far from the sign on venue (where the coffee is).  Twenty minutes later the rest of the troops arrive, the easy-up is put up, med kit set out and all prepared for any customers.  Dave, Alan and Paul were soon off up the road towards Glenmore and were fortunate to be caught in time to pass their bacon rolls over!  Pip had been up to the sign-on / coffee supply and had managed to blag bacon rolls for the whole team!  What a star!!

Pip observing the action!

Watching the runners come in.














PSA result through and all seems to be ok, the score is < 0.1 which is as it should be and long may it stay that way!!

Round at friends on the Friday night for a glass or three of the red stuff (one small one for me, driving ).
The forecast was looking fine and sunny for the Sunday so a quick e-mail on Saturday eve got us fixed up for a swift bike ride for the following day.

A leisurely 1030 start and a steady pedal on pleasant single track through the forest and onto the Moray Coastal Trail, once past Kinloss airfield, now an army engineer base, and the cracking views across the Moray Firth towards the Black Isle, then it was off the Coast Trail and into the Findhorn Foundation, past the whiskey barrel houses, pottery, Trees For Life etc.  Then into the Blue Angel Cafe.  Home made soup and oat cakes followed by an Americano and slice of gluten free polenta cake, a very tasty piece of baking.
It was an effort to get up, out of the cafe and back onto our bikes but after negotiating a route around a new building site in the Foundation we were back on the return run to Burghead.  Roughly an hour saw us back at base and sat on the decking enjoying another cuppa in the afternoon sunshine.  Comments were made about booking such great weather for the ride and then to cap it all we were treated to some dolphins having a play as they passed across the bay on their way for their afternoon performance off the Spey Bay whale and dolphin lookout (And coffee shop!).

To  round off the month I was involved in some dog sitting for friends who were away for a few days at a rock music gig.  One of the dogs was a Long Haired German Shepherd, and built like a brick outhouse!!  I'm sure that he only wanted to play with other dogs but I was never sure that he wouldn't eat them, so it was crack of dawn walks to avoid running into many other dog walkers!

C2C and Parkinson's YP event.

0500 start at Nairn for the Nokia Coast to Coast event.  Competitors run from Nairn to Cawdor, pick up their bikes and cycle to Fort Augustus, overnight there, following day continue cycling to Fort William, dump bikes then walk/run part of the West Highland Way to the shore of Loch Leven, canoe across to Isles of Glencoe Hotel.  Finish.  A tough event, however, the elite competitors did the whole thing in a day!!

Nurse Ann giving the runners a bit of a morale boost as they arrive at Cawdor Castle!

Riders about to pass under the A9, heading for the back roads along the south side of Loch Ness.

Dave parked up the motorbike and came for a sit in the ambulance for a short break, he'd been to see a casualty called in by one of the route marshals, a rider had got soaked in one of the heavy showers and was feeling too cold and tired to continue, Dave ensured that the competitor was wrapped up warm in the marshal's car and on the way to full recovery before leaving the marshal to take the guy back to Nairn where his car had been left.

Dave's about to shoot off up the road to get towards the front riders leaving me to leapfrog the tail end riders and aim towards the middle of the group where I would park up again and wait for most of the riders to go past before moving back through the group again.

 Above;  Nice day for a bike ride!

Right and below; Cold and damp at  the top of the big hill, not far to Ft Augustus, showers and hot food!!

About to start the downhilly bit towards Ft Augustus and the end of day one!!

Bu**** it!  It's a real pain when these things happen!!

Day two was the job of shadowing riders through to the Ft William transition point where they dropped their bikes, put on hill footwear and headed off along part of the West Highland Way finally dropping down to the shore of Loch Leven and paddling across to the finish at the Isles of Glencoe Hotel.

******************************

Parkinson's Younger Person Event.  Venue: Stirling Business Centre.

I wasn't sure that I should have been going to this event at all but was told I was "young at heart"!  So I went!!
In the pic Catherine Crawford (P UK's Boss in Scotland) is ensuring that we keep our noses to the grindstone!  We were discussing various Parkinson's problems e.g. 'Out and about', driving, shopping, public transport.  'In the home', the kitchen, stairs, bathroom.  'At the Doctors', how to get the best from your appointment in the short time available.

There were ample coffee breaks giving plenty of time for 'networking' or chatting to the 'Babes in blue'!

Dinner was a grand affair, excellent food, you can see we'd cleared our plates, and finished the wine, I guess we'll just have to adjourn to the bar.

At one of the 'breakout' sessions.  Dance for Parkinson's
The lady in yellow is a pro dancer who has developed a series of dance exercises designed to promote better awareness of movement and mobility.  Here we have the movers and shakers (literally) about to do their thing!!

Saturday afternoon, well fed and fully coffee'd out the event was coming to a close.  A good time had by all, despite the 'Parkey' faces! and a great effort put in by the volunteers and staff from P UK.  Thanks!  Hope to see you next year.

Physio, coffee, chocolate, Kill Bill and Ae.

Off the bus opposite Anna's 'but and ben' front door, dodge the traffic and across the road.  What a cracking wee spot! wood burning stove, slate tile flooring, coffee pot!!  First things first, a big welcome hug, Suzy was also there visiting and was next in line for a hug.

Note: Hugging is good for you!!

(Coffee isn't bad either)

Sitting back relaxing with a hot mug of fresh coffee and two lovely ladies for company! what a way to spend an afternoon!!
Mark was busy working!?!? at NR and was due to pick me up around 16.30, he and Nic arrived all too soon, but not before I'd extracted a promise from Anna and Suzy that they would venture to the outer reaches of Moray for a bike ride, coffee and cake! Regular reminders are being sent out!!  They were both invited down the road to Mark and Nic's later that evening to do a bit of wine tasting, a grand and genteel pastime!

The next day involved a civilised start, 0815 from Paul's, A reasonable run up the A82 saw us at Jenkin's Park in Fort Augustus ready for the duathalon to start at 0930.  The event started with a 7k run followed by riding the Great Glen Way into Inverness, no problem!!  The job for Mark and myself was to monitor the riders where we could get access to the route, there were several spots to watch them through and some places where the route followed a back road.  1720 and the last riders arrived in the park.  All done, base equipment stowed away and easy-up packed, time for off.  Paul and Mark took the vehicles back west while Ann who had been looking after the finishing line home for the sick, lame and weary was kind enough to drive me to the bus station.  Home in time for a late supper!

 'Me' time, I feel a bike ride coming on!  Looks as though it will have to involve cake and possibly even a coffee.

 Ann and Anna visiting the Red Wine fairy's castle.  She wasn't in but did leave a bottle ready for when we got back from't pub.

Kill Bill and nursey Ashleigh doing her best to look sympathetic!?!

 Ae and the riders come to  see if we'd had a good curry in Dumfries!

He listens avidly (and with a touch of concern) while Pip describes how once she's got a surgical glove on, the procedure will be swift and possibly even painless!!

PS. Karen ate the chocolate! (well most of it).

Eastridge (eventually)

First a visit to the Physio, it's a great system here, you can self refer, just pick up a form, fill in a few questions, drop the form back into the department and within a week I'd had a phone call to set up an appointment.  Four days later I was being examined and having nerve roots at L3 - 4 pummelled and kneaded into submission, I was given some hip flexing exercises (great for the dancing!) and an open appointment for a month, which basically means give the treatment and exercise a couple of weeks to see how its going and if you feel you need further treatment just phone to set up another appointment.  If you don't make contact within the month your name is off the list and you start back at square one.

Odd bits and pieces through the week and on Friday it's back to Fort William for another SDA event at Nevis Range.  Though this time there is a stop off in Inverness to examine a first aid course at Eden Court.  Chris, the BASP Trainer was all set for Mark (the other examiner) and myself to start at 13:30 so with some time in hand lunch seemed a good idea.  Fed and watered (coffee'd), we set to with Mark covering the practical elements of the examination and me the 'interrogation'. The candidates were all Eden Court staff , office, stage hands and front of house.  I think it's great to see such a forward thinking organisation putting a range of staff through first aid training.

Fortunately there was space in their car so I managed to blag a lift back to FW with Mark and family (they'd had an afternoon of serious retail therapy).  Mark and Nic were kind enough to put me up for the weekend even though they had relatives visiting, in fact Bethany (what a star!) had vacated her bedroom for me!

Saturday morning was fine giving us a dry start to get the medical base set up, bacon rolls and coffee later the hill troops were in position and training runs under-way, it wasn't long before the first of our customers started rolling in and kept us going steadily throughout the day.
Saturday's tally: 2 x #Clavicle, 1 x R Shoulder Dislocation, 1 x Elbow Laceration, 1 x C2 pain ?#.  The remainder were assorted bumps and scrapes generally requiring ice packs or cleaning and dressing.
Thankfully the hospital confirmed the ?C2# was severe bruising.
Sunday started with more training runs then a short break for the marshals before racing at 11:00.  By the end of the day's competition we had clocked up 1 x ?#Fibula, 1 x #Neck of Femur, 2 x Knee ligament injuries, 1 x Abdominal pains and the usual run of bruises, abrasions and lacerations.  All in all a successful weekend for the SDA.
Monday saw me back into Elgin to meet up with herself for lunch then back to sunny Burghead.  That evening was a meeting of the local heritage group, this was a 'one off' special, we were allowed access to a 'dig' being overseen by Dr Hunter from Edinburgh Museum.
The dig had uncovered the site of a number of round houses with their associated post holes, one of the round house markings had a rectangular overlay which was apparently the foundation marking of a Pictish dwelling.  Artefacts located within the dig consisted of slag which was evidence of a crude smelting operation, Roman coins, some gold items which were used as currency, small items of jewellery, a Norse belt buckle and some Medieval pottery.  The archaeology crew were delighted with the finds which at some point will be on display locally before becoming part of a larger exhibit in Edinburgh.

Tuesday, back to the Doc's and a reminder that life's a fragile thing.  Time for another implant injected into my belly!  Then a drive into Elgin to see my Parkinson's Consultant, keep exercising, keep taking the tablets and keep smiling (in any order you like)!!

Friday, drive to Edinburgh and blag a bed at Daughter No2's pad.  This was to avoid a very early start on Saturday to drive down the A9 to Lochore Meadows.  Staying at Louise's meant only a short run back across the bridge and up the road a few miles.  The Ranger Base at Lochore Meadows was the venue for a BASP first aid course and I had the job of doing a Peer Review of the Trainer (bungs accepted, (plain brown envelope preferred)).  Coffee in hand, notes taken, more coffee drunk, a verbal debrief over lunch then back up the A9 with, at that time, its many road works, traffic lights and queues.
Sunday, relax.
Monday and Tuesday, general admin, sorting clothes, packing stuff away etc.
Wednesday, wet, get Peer Review report done and e-mailed to BASP office.
Thursday, bus to FW to get equipment sorted and packed for Eastridge which is the venue for a Gravity Enduro.  A long drive down had us winding up at the venue in deepest Englandshire at midnight, therefore it was incumbent upon us to crack a bottle of red to celebrate a safe journey and drink to a successful weekend.
An enduro involves a fair bit of XC riding with a number of technical sections thrown in along the way.  Thankfully this type of event tends not to cause many serious injuries, but as with any off road stuff the potential is there.
Saturday night involved once more trying to rid the world of red wine while Paul consumed a large part of this year's import quota of Grolsh.

By the end of Sunday's riding we had seen a dozen or so patients with one being shipped off by ambulance with a potential spinal injury (cleared by x-ray and discharged).  One excellent thing about the weekend was that the food was provided by The Billy Can, well done Davy and Cheryl!

Some of the bits in between

Another Friday bus journey to Spean Bridge, to be met by Paul and spend the afternoon loading equipment into the ambulances in preparation for the Corrieyairack Challenge.  The event was the following day and started in Fort Augustus with cyclists, runners and walkers making their way over the Corrieyairack Pass and down to a transition point near Laggan where runners and walkers picked up their bikes and set off for the finish at Kincraig.  The casualty tally was light, a support bandage for a knee, a couple of dressings on grazes and a couple of very knackerd walkers who made it to the top of the pass but were then given a lift to Laggan and the support bus.  Once the last participants had gone through my position I sat and waited until I got radio confirmation that they were over the high point and heading for the 'zig zags' and down towards Laggan, as soon as that confirmation was given that was me all done and heading for home!

A few days of personal admin and then it's getting sorted for the next gig.  As it was that time of year to advance my age once again I suggested to Mark, my host for the weekend, that perhaps it would be good to eat out, save anyone cooking and an excuse for a drink or two!  Unbeknown to me Mark, along with wife Nic, had got in touch with a number of friends, some causing a bit of a 'blast from the past'!  As we walked into the Stronlossit there propping the bar up were folk that I had worked with over twenty years before.  A splendid evening ensued, good company, good food and the odd glass or two of red stuff.  A high point came when a fantastic cake was brought in, a gluten free chocolate cake smothered in strawberries!!!  My thanks to Mark, Nic, Ashleigh and Bethany for putting up with me over a number of weekends and for organising the party, and to Anna and Susie for 'The Cake' and lastly thanks to all t'others for turning up!!

Under construction

The finished product

Time for a wish!?!

 













Back to work on the sunny west coast, this time it was a BDS event at Glencoe.  Knowing many of the folks working at White Corries is a big bonus, great coffee, a hot lunch and good craick!  The weather was fine but the riders would have liked a bit of wet to set up the track at the moment it was like riding ball bearings!!
Lots of thrills and many spills netted us a selection of damaged riders, most patched and sent on their way, a few advised to get further treatment at hospital and two transported by ambulance to hospital.  Overall a successful weekend for the SDA without too many injuries!

Pitfichie to Eastridge and bits in between.

Mud, a touch of blood and smiling.

Sunshine and thunderstorms, magic!  Sunshine yes, the rest of it not when kipping in a 'Field Treatment Unit'.  The entrance to the competitors camping field was much like Innerleithen (see last post), however, the Med Base was to be sited close to the DH finish which was on a relatively dry forestry track and well drained from any downpour the forecasters promised.
Pitfichie was only an hour and a half drive for me, just south of the A96 near Inverrurie, the FW team took a tad longer getting there but by 2300 the Easy-up was up, stores unloaded and beds for Paul, Allan and myself sorted, while Anna and Susie had an ambulance to call home.  By 2330 Paul had passed the beers around and we had sused out our surroundings.  The catering trailer was 5mtrs across the track from us and the porta-loos were about 30mtrs away, close enough for comfort, too far in the rain!  Another beer nightcap and time for bed.  Swampy arrived sometime in the night and crashed out in his car.
Saturday 0630, dry and the sun trying to come out!  A test run of the porta-loos was called for before the riders and their followers came on scene, things could get a bit gruesome as the day progressed!  By 0700 the food wagon was up and running, coffee and a bacon and egg roll got thing off to a near perfect start.  The training runs that day brought us the usual crop of bumps, scrapes, deeper scrapes and ?# (query fracture) wrist.  A number of treatments were for injuries received at previous events, wrists, knees and ankles for support strapping, partially healed wounds required extra dressing to protect from chaffing under body armour.  Smiler, pictured above, was encouraged to get himself some elbow pads before he did a proper job on them!
The local eatery was the Gordon Arms in Monymusk, unfortunately for us there was a wedding party in and no further room at the inn.  Kemnay, the next village, was well provided with chip shops, take-away's of assorted nationalities, bars and hotels.  We settled on one where we could park the ambulance without causing alarm, ordered up some drinks and food and got stuck in.  Back at Base Camp a wee bottle of red was opened and a glass or two downed to sort the free radicals out, while Paul was trying to rid the world of Grolsch.
Sunday, race day.  Lurch across the forest road to the burger van, mug of coffee and bacon and egg roll later I'm ready to face the rest of the day.  The easy-up is tidied and gear set out ready for riding to get started.  Through the day there is the regular run of injuries along with re-dressing some of the previous day's wounds.  Around the middle of the afternoon we had a shout to attend an OTH (over the handlebars) accident, the casualty was complaining of mid-line upper back pain, the first medic on scene went through the DRABC process, called for further assistance and manually immobilised the rider, seconds later the vacuum mattress and bag of stiff-neck collars arrived on scene.  The 'hill' team did a first class job of packaging the casualty, getting him loaded into the ambulance and off the hill side.  Meanwhile Ambulance Control had been notified and a unit dispatched.  Paul thought it best to meet the NHS ambulance down on the road from Monymusk village so that while they were on their way to us he could make his way slowly along the forest road to give the casualty as smooth a ride as possible and save time and discomfort for our passenger.  The casualty transfer went smoothly and a short while later Paul was back on site and the race just about over.
We made quick work of stowing all the medical equipment from the hill, clearing out and packing the easy-up away, we even did the burger guy a favour, as he had a bunch of burgers, sausages and bacon cooked and no customers he asked if we could get rid of them for him!!  I suppose it was a bit cheeky to ask if he would fry up some onions for us!  Bloated on the left-overs I stashed my bag in the car, said my goodbyes to the team and left them sorting their final bits of kit out as I trundled steadily down the forest road, out to the A96 and off home.
Domestic chores were waiting to be sorted back at the ranch and on Wednesday a job at Glenmore Lodge. BASP had a first aid course running and Wednesday afternoon was examination time, Gus opted to run the practical exam leaving me to 'interrogate' them on their 1st aid knowledge.
Just a one day event coming up at the weekend so no pressure.

The Inners mud fest, Pitfichie and Eastridge.

Home Sunday eve! First time for ages, usually it's Monday and arriving Elgin lunchtime (ish). At least I get three days in Sunny Burghead before another bike event looms! Ah well, back to retirement mode, wander across to the Bothy for a proper heavy duty coffee and check the papers to see what's happening on our big happy planet!! Needless to say, some bits of it are pretty knackered and it will take a long time before they're anywhere near being put right again. If there's going to be conflict it should be politicians and arms manufacturers who have to do the fighting, confine them to a nice desert that no one wants and leave them to it, no war correspondents, no info to the 'outside world', lets see how long it lasts and the money saved could be used to facilitate what is already feasible, feeding the world!! Wee rant over, finished my coffee and back to put some preservative on a garden bench. Tuesday, much of the same plus a bit of shopping to stock up for Wednesday. Wednesday arrives and I'm taking Herself off to catch the bus to Inverness and then on to Edinburgh, a theatre visit is due, it appears the 'culture' batteries are running low! Back to BH and Wednesday afternoon was spent testing the newly preserved garden bench followed by the construction of a curry, no superlatives required, it was that good!!! Thursday morning, bag ready to go, moggie fed (neighbours to feed later), off for t'0755 bus. Four hours, a bacon roll and cup of coffee later I'm in Spean Bridge being picked up by Wendy. We were heading up to Paul's to help load equipment, he had two events to cover over the weekend, the IXS downhill at Innerleithen and on the Sunday a one day Pony Club thing over near Kirrimuir (hopefully no more 'expired' mounts)(see Bikes on Saturday, horses Sunday 03/07/2012). Ambulances all loaded and Paul away down the road on the Thursday afternoon. That evening I shared a fish supper and a few glasses of the red stuff with Ellie while we put the world to rights and talked psychology!! (Ellie's OU course). Friday morning was fine and sunny (something had gone wrong with the W Coast weather!), a final check of last minute odds and ends, vehicle lights etc, Forestry Dave arrived, Wendy had already gone in her car and Susie was to be collected just off the Edinburgh by-pass at The Byre, a pub by the entrance to Hillend dry ski slope. Dave and I were off at 0800 in convoy back down the A9, a steady run got us to a Tesco store on the outskirts of Perth where we re-fuelled and had a swift coffee before getting on our way to the rendezvous' with Susie. 1230 in torrential rain and having lost the driver side wiper arm near Peebles!! (it didn't make a great deal of difference to what I could see anyway!) we dropped into 4WD and ploughed through the mud into the top field at Inners!!

Photo Gregor Brearley, Sweet Protection.

Paul was already on site and had booked our Base Treatment  Easy-up site, it was a little dampish underfoot! the carpet would be ruined!!  The afternoon DH training was about to get under-way so Dave and Wendy, the hill medics, made a rapid exit to the course while Susie and myself finished setting up the Base unit.  Once organised and ready for casualty action we had to sus out the coffee facilities, initially there were two, one a fancy 'proper coffee' and cake outlet, the other a bacon roll, burger and 'instant' facility!  Both have there place but I know where the coffee was coming from!  Five minutes later Susie comes wandering into the Easy-up clutching a great smelling coffee!  "Where d'ja get that"?  "Oh I was talking to the guys in the Shimano tent, they've got a coffee maker"!  After some cajoling I persuaded her to go and flutter her eyelashes and blag me a cup, telling her she could offer them a free elastoplast if it would swing the deal!!  What good guys they were, producing an excellent brew of Columbian.

Shimano at work!  (first class coffee!)

Later in the afternoon we were visited by Andy and Karen, Andy, brother of Davy Irons of  The Billy Can Catering Company (contract for Gravity Enduro series).  Karen, 1st aid course student of a year or two ago?!?  Now living close to Innerleithen they had come to see what we were up to, it didn't take long to persuade them to turn up on the Saturday to lend a hand, Karen was keen to get involved on the medical front, trainees always welcome!
The Friday afternoon produced little in the way of injuries, the usual bumps and scrapes, strapping last weeks wounds and requests for ice.  Hopefully the rain will ease off and the rest of the weekend will be dry!

Saturday morning, still soggy!!

Saturday and the occasional let up on the weather, but when the heavens opened there was still a lot of water to come down!!  A few piccies might give you an idea of conditions:

Photo Gregor Brearley, Sweet Protection.

Sore shoulder and damp but still smiling!

Photo Gregor Brearley (not riding (more sense)), Sweet Protection.

Oh didn't it just rain!!!  The Saturday team were augmented by Jenny, Donald and Ewan, Karen was also back to get some 'hands on' training.  We had a steady run of casualties coming through the Base, virtually all had to be hosed down to get to see their wounds!  Once thoroughly cleaned the majority of open wounds were Iodine sprayed and dressed, one or two had to be 'toothbrushed' to get all of the grott out of their lacerations!  Hardy bikers! Grit your teeth, this will hurt but fortunately I wont feel a thing!!  Scrub, wash out, spray and dress.  The odd bony injury presented it's self, wrists: scaphoid, lunate, radial head, ulna, all were examined and where there was an index of suspicion of a possible fracture friends or relatives would rally round and transport them to hospital.  Later in the day one crash resulted in the cas being stretchered off and brought down in an ambulance, while we were working on the casualty an NHS ambulance was called to take the cas to hospital.  Cas handover completed  (transfer done in the car park to avoid the risk of the NHS ambulance getting bogged down!!), notes passed on to the ambulance crew and then they were off to The Borders General Hospital.  Later that evening we got some feed back on the casualty, severe bruising, x-ray couldn't find any fracture and so the cas would be given pain relief and released.
The previous evening and that night we were staying at a bunkhouse in Cadrona, the Friday evening meal had been an assortment of curries delivered from Peebles and because of the size of the order loads of extras were thrown in! popadums, pakoras, prawn crackers, the works!

Photo Gregor Brearley, Sweet Protection, in a soggy Innerleithen high street.

For the Saturday evening somewhat lighter meals were chosen, folks selecting ready meals or getting some bits to make a snack meal,
a few beers and bottles of red were also added to the list and as we headed back to the bunkhouse a stop at the local Co-op was made and provisions purchased.  A splendid evening ensued!

Paul was due to head off at crack of dawn for Kirriemuir and the Pony Club event.  Being an early riser I was aware of him getting up, dressed and heading down to the kitchen, I dozed for a while but couldn't get off to sleep so figured I'll make myself a brew, quietly up and dressed I went into the kitchen to find Paul struggling back in through a window!  Apparently he'd

The Shimano guys doing their thing.

taken some of his gear out to the ambulance and the door closed it's self behind him!! not wanting to ring the bell or phone and wake everyone in the room he decided to see if there was an unlocked window, there was, and after clambering through into the TV annex he walked into the kitchen and was a mite gob smacked to find me there with a mug of coffee in my hand!
Sunday and back through the bog in the field!  The girls working at the burger van and coffee n cake place had managed to get their supply wagon stuck in the mire and were having to trip through the swamp in their bright spotty wellies carting boxes of goodies through the rain from van to stall!
We were fortunate to have 4WD vehicles and could move about the field reasonably easily and although most of our casualties were walking wounded we did have another ? spinal injury who was evacuated from the course by ambulance and transported through the bog to the car park for handover to an NHS ambulance.  On a steep 'gnarley' course like this and in these weather conditions the potential for serious injury is high, hand, wrist, collar bone and shoulder injuries are fairly common, lacerations and abrasions to lower leg, knee, hips and elbow are the usual body areas requiring cleaning and dressing.  Wounds can be caused by bits of bike, pedals etc, impact with rocks or trees, or abrasions caused by the same media and including skiting along the ground at a rate of knots!!  This is usually the reason for a toothbrush and lots of iodine to be employed!!
A few more piccies to maintain the flavour.  Pitfichie and Eastridge next post.

I'll just take the washing home to my mum!

Photo Gregor  Brearley, Sweet Protection.

Photo Gregor  Brearley,  Today I be wearin Sweet Protection.!