callan had a frustration of dental proportion recently on a routine visit to the orthodontist to have her braces tightened. previously, she's had to trek up to the only other orthodontic practice in edinburgh every few weeks for this 5 minute procedure. in january an orthodontist opened a practice in galashiels - 8 miles away - & we've managed to transfer her to it. on monday, her first visit at the new practice, the orthodontist advised her that in his opinion the edin orthodontist hadn't undertaken the most effective course of action. the train tracks she's had for almost a year will have no effect once removed unless she wears a retainer permanently thereafter. one of the options he put to her, & the one she's decided on following research, involves removing the existing train tracks, extracting 4 teeth, then fitting new train tracks to shoogle around the remaining teeth.
the uk medical profession shies from recommending or endorsing a preferred course of action. this places significant responsibility on the patient to make an informed choice, which i don't think is a bad thing; there is so much information available nowadays after all. when my mum lived here she hated it. being of a generation that worships doctoral decree she popped prescribed medis without giving the schedule information a once over. the book of the week on radio 4 a few months ago was a history of medicine, from which a sobering factoid was quoted ... its less than 100 years since doctors cured more patients than they killed. puts matters in perspective for me. that said, the healthcare in the scottish borders hasn't let us down in the 10 years we've lived here. our local medical practice is staffed by professionally attentive, knowledgeable folk who i hold in high esteem. but i'm from the prevent rather than cure school of thought; a hospital visit is something i work hard at avoiding.
spring is making a spurious attempt to break the chill of winter. the countryside is strewn with snowdrops, aconites & crocuses. the daffs and tulips will soon have their turn. february saw 3 weeks solid of snow lying on the ground. the novelty wore off around the same time the snow ceased being fluffy. the muckier it became, and the more routine-curtailing its presence, the more oppressive it was. my routine wasn't too badly affected, as i'm on foot for much of my everyday work. the local council ran short of grit salt, there was significant disruption to business and schools were closed on a few occasions. the global economic woes briefly fell from the headlines as the media took issue on the public's behalf with the met office for either forecasting too much snow or berating it for snow which failed to fall.
our family has started gradually blossoming after the fug of winter. i find it particularly challenging to motivate myself to do anything more energetic beyond undertaking the most perfunctory of nesting activities in the darker months of the year. fortunately, my productivity levels flourish from early spring until the evenings draw in earlier in mid-autumn, which assuages my guilt at my idleness just a little.
my seasonal "mountain goating" job for independent walkers holidaying in the tweed valley runs from april to the end of october this year. one of my route management responsibilities before the season starts is an on-foot recce of the 5 day, 59 mile route. so that's been one of the first significant chores i've undertaken in the past few weeks. phil is an enthusiastic co-walker (with a less desirable lust for risk). he has a well developed talent for transforming an amble into an adventure, usually with unintended but occasionally mildly life threatening consequences. of the 4 walks thusfar - which average between 6-10 miles - the most enjoyable has been the 9 miles from melrose to selkirk, over the eildon hills via the small village of bowden. after an earlier tea break in bowden under a huge old tree on the green we broke for a well deserved picnic lunch midway through the walk in the shelter of a woodland overlooking the panorama from a high point near lindean.
the most recent walk wasn't quite as delightful. the additional 4 miles over & above the already arduous, planned 8 miles took a few days to recover from. we got lost in inclement weather along ridges in a network of hills & valleys between selkirk & walkerburn. i don't know what the wind chill factor was up there, but it was pretty miserable trying to dodge mud, rain, sleet and snow for most of the walk through peat & heather. keeping positively focussed tested my mental stamina somewhat. the descent of the last 4 miles or so along woodland tracks and forestry back roads in fading light - unable to pinpoint our location - was just a little hairy. even the dogs were becoming despondent. if you'd like to do a spot of vicarious hillwalking there are a bunch of captioned photos on our flickr site.
the acclaimed national geographic doccy guns, germs & steel was broadcast in the uk a few weeks ago. i read the book on my friend gerald's recommendation, & found jared diamond's account of his theory about human development very interesting but rather scholarly. i don't know if you're familiar with diamond's work or the premise of his theory (his wikipedia entry gives a flavour of his brilliance ... he's a polymath of eye watering proportion) but his presentation style is rooted in academia. without being disparaging i'm not suggesting he's likely to be the most compelling of lecturers. the 3 hour doccy was made in 2005 & includes new content not in the book. it was masterfully produced; narrated with a subtelty that revealed diamond as a man of immense sensitivity, driven by intellectual curiosity to try and make sense of his observations over more than a quarter of a century pursuing his varied fields of study. its cinematically beautiful too. wow! aptly sums up my estimation of it.
as my schedule is jam packed until the end of october we'll be staying firmly put not too far from home. every summer we brave edinburgh's holidaying millions & take in as much of the festival content on offer as we can bear until reaching cultural saturation. our emergence onto the social scene after copious nesting in winter starts in the next week or so, commencing with the inaugural skeptics in the pub in edinburgh. the session is titled the psychology of anomolous experiences. the first weekend in april phil & i have booked to attend an event at edinburgh university which is part of the science festival. its called hauntings ... about paranormal stuff which we all share an interest in, albeit from different perspectives. phil has long participated in an online forum of paranormal enthusiasts. he's the token skeptic, although sometimes accused when taking the role of devil's advocate of being a cynic. i can't get my head around why people invariably dash to superstition in the first instance to explain anomalous occurrences, but there you are, ghosts around every corner seemingly. a common theme which runs through the accounts to the forum is emotional disturbance. add a teen to the mix, put 1 + 1 together and the result can be ... more than 2. we're taking a long weekend break at the end of march to visit the morgan family in bolton & manchester. phil's nephew is on 2 weeks leave from afghanistan then, so its a fitting time to get together for some familial sociability. we've booked to travel by train; its far more relaxing than driving down the m6.
i'm so loving working with mutts, which i find by far the most satisfying and pleasurable work i've done. if you're interested i've published a few comprehensively captioned furrynuff photos on flickr. the grooming, walking & sitting provides many, many anecdotes which i have ample opportunity to exchange with other dog loving clients, friends & acquaintances. our two dogs relish the sociability of their lives too, enjoying both doggly & human attention (particularly being clapped, the vernacular for patting in scotland).
xx
Sunday, 8 March 2009
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