Cornwall

With my first COVID vaccine having (hopefully) done its magic on my immune system, it was time to return to clinical work and to activities that are more in tune with the initial purpose of this blog: veterinary medicine and traveling.

As a result of Brexit, there is now a general shortage of veterinary surgeons in the UK and combining business with pleasure (which is always a good idea if it can be arranged), I embarked on a set of “workassions”.

For my first assignment I caught up with my Argentinian friend and colleague Facundo, with whom I had shared a lot of happy moments while working in Falun in Sweden and who works and lives now together with his amazing wife Carolina in Cornwall.

Sure enough his clinic was in need of some support and a few days later I found myself in a little house in Bodmin,

from where I went to work in a couple of clinics in Lostwithiel and in St.Austell.

For a whole week I was greeted with a blue sky and by the sound of seagulls, while the painwork of my car was suffering from the left overs of their digestive tracts in typical Cornish style…..

After over four months (!) I found myself again in a – now COVID conform – consulting room,

vaccinating “COVID”puppies and catching up in the operating theatre on overdue castrations and spays. Once again I was spoiled with a well organised and super-friendly nursing team and as it turned out later in the week, some of my veterinary peers had already heard of me through some of my former clients in Virginia Water – which shows once again in what a small world we are living……

Following Facundo’s expert advice, I also discovered the perfect spot for my lunch breaks with Charlestown Habour,

where in the vicinity of a beautiful Baltic clipper,

the obligatory fish and chips tasted even better.

The evenings where spent with memorable runs along the coastal path, where – being based in Bodmin – I had the difficult choice between the more sedate South coast

or the more rugged Atlantic coast…..

This was then followed up in style with a drink at the harbour in Port Isaac

or completely replaced by dinner with my Argentinian friends (outside with three layers of clothes …..).

To finish this memorable week off, Facundo volunteered as my tour guide for a hiking trip through the Bodmin Moors, very much in the footsteps of Daphne du Maurier’s “Jamaica Inn”.

When finally leaving the South West full of great memories, being unable to resist my craving for decent coffee at this brilliant little mobile coffee shop,

I had the inkling that we are now finally on our way back to some sort of a normal life (at least in the UK)……