Action-packed weekend

Hey there campers, it's been quite the weekend. On Friday, I got on very well with my patients on the acute ward in the afternoon, even finding some of my relationship-building stride again. One of my patients kept looking toward her son who was visiting for answers to the MMSE (cognitive screen), so I told her "Hey! He's not your lifeline, eyes front, look at me" at which point I saw her eyes sliding left toward the newspaper to be able to answer my question about what the date was so I grabbed it and told her there would be no phoning a friend or any other assistance. She thought it was all wildly funny, and again, I'm left to regret that in this line of OT, that's all you get. You see patients once or twice, maybe three times at most, and then they're out the door. Unfortunately, that is the bulk of OT in the UK, getting them back out into the community as quickly as possible, whether or not community resources can handle it (most places they can't, long waiting lists). Nicole and I talked a lot this weekend about how essential the therapeutic relationship is- we've both had training in recognizing different personality types, because often the way you get through to one patient does not work with the next...although humor is always a good place to start. Get the banter flowing, and a patient is putty in your hands :)

So I headed back out to Guildford on Friday, for a fun-filled weekend with Nicole and Rob. Guildford is a great base, I must say- easily accessible to the M25, major train station right there, so London is at your fingertips, but so is the countryside. Rob and I arrived at the train station within minutes of each other, conveniently enough (he'd been away on business for a few days), and we were off. We had dinner at their flat, but then took off for a popular pub/bar called the Keystone...I must say no matter where you go, the nightlife inevitably draws an interesting mix of people. It was a great place, and we hung out there for some time, but then decided to check out a couple of other pubs and bars as we headed up some hilly streets toward the castle. The beer gardens were all being emptied out because of some sort of law to protect residents from noise after 11pm, and we didn't fancy being inside the bars, so we eventually headed back home. On our way, we saw a Citroen C250 or something like that, I'm sure I've got it wrong, and decided I need one (it's a classic car, so Rob reckoned I could avoid all kinds of fees and taxes that way). Nicole and I belted out Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody as we walked which could be faintly heard from one of the bars, and laughed at the various drunkards in the street.

Saturday morning, we hit the road for the beach! We went to Little Climping, which is near Aruyndel, the place where Nicole and Rob recently celebrated their one-year anniversary. I have some pictures from the beach and Aruyndel I'll post in a bit. The beach was all pebbles and stones for the most part, and we had a game going at one point for the farthest stones thrown and best kerplunks...all of sudden we noticed this black and white collie racing down the beach at top speed toward us. And I said, "I think that dog wants to play!" but Nicole and Rob weren't so sure since it was coming from so far away. Sure enough it raced up to us and looked at each of us in turn until we started throwing stones again, at which point it started to try and catch them. Nicole and I got concerned by the sound the rocks made as the dog caught them in its teeth, so we started throwing pretzels instead. But eventually, we stopped throwing things and the dog just sat there hopefully waiting, and we wondered where its owner was (it had a collar). Next thing you know, there's a guy on a bike on the cliff above us, screaming obscenities at the dog, calling it stupid, demanding that it come, calling us names as well. I think he wanted to scream at us, but didn't have the guts so he was yelling at the dog that it didn't just go running off for any f***ers throwing stones! Yikes!! Boy we were glad when he left. To soothe ourselves afterward, we decided the dog looked well, and obviously wasn't being physically abused at least.

We moved on to Aruyndel after the beach, where I took pictures of pensioners bowling (bocce ball to you Americans) in crisp, white uniforms. We had too much to drink at a riverside pub which had a very good beer made with nettles. People were kayaking up and down the river, clambering out near the pub, hoisting their kayaks onto their shoulders and running up the road with them. It was fun to watch, especially when one kayak capsized and two good-looking muscle-y men went floating by, hanging onto their overturned kayak, waving to everyone at the pub who were staring at them. Poor Rob had to drive back without much to entertain him, as between the sun and the pub, Nicole and I were zonked out. However, we rallied for the USA vs Italy game, and what a game it was! I have never in my life seen a football game like that before, it was one bit of excitement after another. Initially I was confident the US would win, because after that horrible opening game, they came into this game with guns blazing. The Italians were caught flatfooted, unable to gather any momentum, and it just seemed like a matter of time for the Americans with all the scoring opportunities they were creating. Italy managed to score on one of their first scoring opportunities, but then they scored on themselves a few minutes later, making it 1-1. Then all the drama began to unfold-- and it became a game the British would call "comedy" (one of its meanings being "ridiculous"). First an Italian was red-carded for slamming an elbow into McBride's face while going for a head ball. So it was 11 playing 10. Then an American was sent off for an aggressive slide tackle, making it 10 on 10. Still the Americans dominated the game. Then Eddie Pope was red-carded for the Americans (a ridiculous call), making it 10 on 9. But through sheer will power, heart, and determination, the Americans rode it all the way to a 1-1 tie, with great saves from Keller. Nicole and I were screaming like banshees through the whole game. The Americans are not in great position at the moment, but what an amazing effort, and they aren't out yet. It's still possible they'll go through to the next round, and if they play like they did last night, no one should be counting them out yet.

This morning, the three of us headed out for another pub walk. As this entry is already very long, to summarize...we got lost (again- I need to buy them a new pub walk book, this guy's directions are ridiculous), we met some llamas, hiked some ridiculously steep hills, saw some unbelievably glorious views, some Tudor-style cottages, lots of families out on Father's Day scavenger hunt and picnicking at pubs and along rivers, and finally we had horrible service, but great beer and Pimms at the pub at the end.