24 December 2015 (Thursday) - Christmas Eve

As I did the night shift last night I listened to the radio. There was a rather interesting program which started off with a sci-fi theme. Given that you are on a spaceship that has crashed on an alien planet, would you eat an alien?
There are a lot of things I do eat, a lot I would eat if I had to, and a lot that I say I wouldn't but probably would if needs must. The program started along these lines, but I must admit that I was rather disappointed when the thing descended into thinly veiled pro-vegetarian propaganda. The implication was made that eating a food animal was akin to eating a family member.
If someone chooses to be a vegetarian then that is their choice. Why do so many feel they should evangelise about the matter?

I also heard something which made me sit up and take notice. In my previous workplace I used to look after the trainees. Over the years I saw over twenty of them from employment to qualification. They were (and still are) all a decent bunch. One in particular was an amiable gentle girl and I was pleased to hear of her getting promotion to a senior position a few years ago. I kept in touch with her (on and off) via Facebook.
A few weeks ago she was sacked for bullying other staff. Bullying? I can't believe that of her. I spoke with her and it would seem she'd fallen foul of trumped up charges. And now (completely out of the blue) her partner has collapsed and is in hospital for the foreseeable future.
How quickly life can change.

With work done I came home. Sid was snoring but "Furry Face TM" was itching for his walk. I left Sid (and "er indoors TM") snoring and took my dog round to the park and back. As we walked we met a dog-walking acquaintance. We chatted as we walked while my dog spent the entire time trying to hump his dog. I wish he wouldn't do that.

I came home; had shower, shave, brekkie and took myself off to bed for the day. I slept like a log until mid afternoon when I woke to an empty house. "er indoors TM" had gone out somewhere with the dogs. The house seemed empty without them.

And so I'm off to work again. There are those who would grumble about having to work on the night of Christmas Eve. I really don't mind. When I first took up this line of work thirty four years ago I knew that this would be the way of things. I wonder what the night will hold. Some of my quietest times and busiest times at work have been working alone on Christmas shifts.
When you are drinking yourselves silly over the Christmas period spare a thought for the likes of me. And the physiotherapists, radiographers, dieticians, biomedical scientists, audiologists, speech therapists, cleaners, cooks, podiatrists, ODAs, orthoptists, psychologists, prosthetists and everyone else?
It's not just doctors and nurses who work round the clock in hospitals...


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