Monday 12 October 2009

A Bus Ride and a Rush Hour in Scotland :-}

Today we had to go to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary as my wife, Patricia, has to see the lady doctor who will perform the angioplasty in a few weeks.

We drove five miles to Earlston and then took the bus to Edinburgh. Main reason is that I detest trying to navigate around a large 'roundabout' a few miles from the hospital.

I took a few short video shots of the bus ride into the hospital. The interview went well. We set off for the bus back to Earlston where we had parked our little Ford Ka car.

About half a mile from Mellerstain and our cottage I had to pull up. It was the typical rush hour in this neck of the woods....

Billy May's orchestra blares out 'Autumn Leaves' in the background!

29 comments:

ToBlog today said...

Hi Philip,

The sheep are adorable. Do they always stop when they see someone on the road?

Anonymous said...

That was fun! Bought back memories of driving in Scotland.On our short two-week trip we were impressed by many things, including the docile fat white sheep.Apart from prized Marinos, ours in Australia are scrawny,dusty-brown and skittish. What an interesting video - feel like I've been on an adventure, thanks.

Susan said...

LOVE your videos.
There is an amazing contrast, going from the halls of the hospital, to the sheep along the road.
I really MUST visit Scotland.

Tess Kincaid said...

Best thoughts and prayers for Patricia's procedure.

You know, Philip, animals really adore you. They like to stop and have a friendly chat.

A few years ago, they put a "roundabout" on our road. We're SO European, now! :^)

DUTA said...

Sheep are a lovely sight; hospitals are not.

Good Luck to your wife with the medical procedure she has to undergo.

The Bug said...

What fun to see that bunch of silly sheep!

Your hospital video reminds me of how fortunate I was that we lived close to so many good hospitals in Cincinnati. Now we're an hour away from those hospitals, which makes the idea of scheduling a procedure more "interesting."

Brenda said...

Hoping things turn out well for Patricia with her tests and everything. I liked the wide revolving doors going in the building. I just put up Nat King Cole's version of Autumn Leaves on my blog today.
I am going to start calling you St. Francis. You have a way with animals. I would love to run into a flock of sheep on the road!

lovelyprism said...

Those roundabouts scared me to death when I visited Scotland! I don't blame you for not wanting to drive in that!

Monkey Man said...

Best thought to your wife and her angioplasti. I hope it goes well. Love the videos.

Shadow said...

gimme your rush hour any day...

the walking man said...

I could abide those sheep in rush hour much easier than the flock that normally congests the roadways here.

Pauline said...

I remember my first round-about in England when I visited. The driver sat on the "wrong" side of the car, and the whirling and dashing made my heart leap into my throat. I wish someone had told me about taking a bus!

Stella Jones said...

I'm sorry to hear your wife has to have an angioplasty.Let's hope It's not too onerous for her. That roundabout looks like a 'special' to me. I don't blame you taking the bus, although in general I love the roundabouts. They keep the traffic flowing and it is less wear and tear on the car because you are not constantly stuck at the light!
The sheep are gorgeous.
Blessings, Star

PhilipH said...

Angelina: I'm not sure. I think this lot should have continued to follow the chap with the big blue stick. I had to move backwards to get them to move on!

Pam: In the bit of the borders where I live we often get flocks of sheep being moved along for quite good distances. They really do cause a bit of a holdup of traffic but nobody seems to mind.

Susan: Thank you. I hope you don't have a train due right now! Lovely balance you have; are you going to Willow's dance today?

Willow: Thanks for your kind thoughts. Pat's just hoping the procedure does the trick; so do I!!
Thanks for the foxtrot too. Lovely.

Duta: Thank you also. The Edinburgh Royal Infirmary is a massive place to negotiate. I love all the animals around here; it's a lovely natural habitat for them too. None of the factory-farm stuff.

Bug: Yes, very sheepish lot indeed. The hospital we went to yesterday is an 80-mile round trip!

Brenda: Thanks for your good wishes. Nat King Cole's version is one of my most played 'Autumn Leaves' along with Unforgettable, Somewhere along the Way, Mona Lisa and Nature Boy et al.

Lovelyprism: On our next visit I shall have to drive all the way and cannot escape that massive roundabout. It's so easy to get caught in the wrong lane, then all the road-hog locals get a bit airyated!

MM: Thanks for your good wishes. I am sure all will be well; the lady surgeon we spoke with yesterday was so helpful and re-assuring.

Shadow: Yes, I quite enjoy a sheepish rush hour.;-)

Mark: You're so right. I've experienced far worse road holdups!

Pauline: I have a couple of American friends who come here now and then. They too find these UK roundabouts rather daunting although they get round OK now.

PhilipH said...

Stella Star: Thanks very much for your kind words. I'm sure things will go well for Pat.

Argent said...

It's amazing how similar these modern hospitals look. Ours, which was built less than 5 years ago, looks a lot like that one. The sheep were most amusing - you have a similar attraction for them as for the cows it seems. I'll keep 'em crossed for your wife.

scarlethue said...

It's odd, that video, like being above the traffic and yet in it.

And your roads are so confusing!

Land of shimp said...

Many good wishes for a successful procedure and a speedy recovery for Patricia :-)

Ah, the curious sheep! Philip, you must be the farm animal whisperer or something. The critters travel to you in packs!

Also, that footage of the roundabout was harrowing. They're scary things by nature, but from my perspective, I couldn't help but let out a little bit of a yelp. "Philip!!! You're on the wrong side of the road!!!"

Cloudia said...

Glad I chanced to come here from Walking Man's comment-ery. Nice blog, Aloha from Waikiki, Friend!

Comfort Spiral

Vera said...

What an absolutely charming video. It made me feel all warm inside. Thankyou.

Barry said...

All animal herds just seem to stop and stare in awe at you Philip! You have a gift.

Seeing that roundabout brought back nightmares from my last trip to Edinburgh. There are few roundabouts in Canada so I am not a seasoned user, but thought I was getting used to those pesky things until I ran into that monster that lurks on the edge of Edinburgh. We needed to go round three times and finally exited to a blare of horns.

JCMurray said...

Those are the coolest automatic doors! I've been through plenty of revolving doors, and am scared even though I have some control, but those look like they'd be fun once one figured them out.

PhilipH said...

Argent,Scarlethue,Alane,Cloudia,
Barry,Vera and JCMurray, Thank you all for visiting and leaving such great comments.

I would especially like to give a very warm WELCOME to JCMurray. She has only recently decided to join the ranks of bloggers. I think she would welcome any of you to pop in and say 'Hello' on her new blog. I've already done so but I'm sure she has room for many more visitors.

stregata said...

Philip, thank you so much for your comment! We have quite a lot of pheasants here too. Last winter I had a pheasant hen that came to my bird feeder on a regular basis. Drove my cats crazy!

stregata said...

Oh, almost forgot: best wishes for your wife!!

Jo said...

That was fun. LOVE the sheep.

Edinburgh has one of the best teaching hospitals in the world, and some of the very best doctors. Your wife will be in good hands. Keep us posted, and please give her my best.

Cheers!
Jo

A human kind of human said...

Roundabouts? Oh you mean traffic circles. Over here in SA they are everyday occurrences, especially in the big cities and the one you were going through reminded me very much of a very big one we have in Pretoria called the Fountains Circle. My husband detests them as he once received a traffic ticket for turning out of the circle from the wrong lane. He has never mastered them either - lol. I am sure your wife will be just fine. It seems like such a modern hospital that I am sure the physicians will be up to scratch with all the newest technologies - not like some of our "third world" hospitals here today. My favourite part of course was the sheep.

nollyposh said...

A luverley little trip ~Thankyou~ Philip X:-)

Elisabeth said...

An oldie but a goodie. I enjoyed those sheep, too, Philip. we saw a couple on the roads in Scotland but not near as many as here.