Heed Hunted

The title says it all. Well, in Scottish it does. My clever wife was looking through the contacts list in her mobile phone the other day ( that isn't what makes her clever by the way, although I do find it difficult to use this myself actually ) and saw the name of a woman with whom she had previously had business dealings with in London. On the off chance she send her a text asking if their company, Deltex, had any vacancies in Glasgow, as we had recently moved. She got a reply advising her that there were not any positions vacant, but there possibly could be next year. Fair enough.

The next day Moira receives a phone call from Sharon at Deltex, asking her if she was free to meet up at Glasgow airport, if Sharon was to fly from London to see her. " Of course " says the wife and duely meets up. At the end of a one hour chat Sharon tells her that this was in fact an interview and they would like to offer Moira a job. Full time, but only 3 days a week, to allow for Lily. Plus a car. A new car. A BMW car. In a colour of her choosing. And that they would teach Fraser how to cook and clean ( nah, not really ). And so suddenly Moira is now a " Clinical Trainer " on the Oesophageal Doppler equipment for Scotland and the north of England.

Moira will be required to visit hospitals in these areas and train nurses and doctors in ITU how to use the equipment. She will also attend operations in theatres to advice on their training and use during surgery also. There will also be occasions where she has to attend conferences throughout Europe as part of her remit.

Yesterday was her first day, and a large parcel arrived via DHL. This contained equipment and also all of the literature that she requires. Part of the material they have been using for the past few years has been Moira's article from the BMJ. When Moira was discussing other background reading with Sharon she also asked Moira if she knew of the research done by Moira Mackay. Moira said " I think so, as that was also done by me under my maiden name". Ha ha.

So suddenly everything has turned on its head in a matter of days. Lily is in nursery Monday and Tuesday, with her Granny looking after her on Thursdays. A temporary hire car has arrived for Moira to use, until her beemer turns up, probably in March. Her laptop, mobile phone, credit card and business cards are on their way. She has a training course in Southampton next week, the hotel is booked, and the flights will be sent soon.

Where are the cookery lessons ?

Moira's first reaction was slight shock at the speed of it all, and then suddenly a smile broke out and she went shopping for new " work clothes ". Strangely some of these immediately appeared directly from the back of the wardrobe, from behind a panel I had never seen before.
Boy, Deltex are quick workers, or just pure magic I guess.

Looking through my contacts list in my phone the other day, I saw a number for Hugh Heffner .......

Make mine a Baileys

We have just had Liz and Mike Bailey to stay, who are just the perfect guests. Liz and Moira chatted away like two fish wives who hadn't seen each other for 6 months, and Mike loves his whisky and walking, especially the 500 metres from our house to the pub.

Despite the initially damp weather, which they bravely ventured out into for walks through the mist, with views to the end of your arm, Liz and Mike gowned up in a variety of hats and coats and took to the local paths.

Eventually the weather cleared enough for Mike and I to scramble up Dumgoyne, which afforded a view to Loch Lomond ( over Mike's shoulder in the photo ) and also towards the city of Glasgow. As Mike is an expert at skimming stones ( as well as purchasing whisky at every stop he makes ) we took him to the shores and let him ply his skills too.

Mike heard that you could buy more whisky at Stirling Castle so we also headed there under the pretext of looking in dungeons and viewing tapestry's. It appears that Liz and Mike Bailey also might have a claim to the castle itself, as evidenced in the next photo.


To cap the visit the lovely Baileys treated us to a wonderful meal at the 'Inn at Kippen' which had delicious food, and saw all of us sampling off each other plates, to decide who had ordered the most sumptuous meal. They served whisky too.


All too quickly it was time for Liz and Mike to return to Whitstable, a little paradise all of its own.

We are already looking forward to their next visit, hopefully next summer. If I was you guys I would still bring the same wet weather gear.