Into my second year in the U.K.

Dear Readers.

Most of you who have read my blog entries over the last year are aware that although I entered this country a year ago as a middle-grade doctor, I have had to scale down myself to the level of a junior doctor and work the same duties as before with the intent of getting back to the level of middle grade with dedication and hard work. 

I am happy to share with you, therefore, that things are slowly but surely working to improve my abilities in the right direction. In the last review I had with my designated "educational supervisor", I was told that there has been a  noticeable improvement in my skills and some improvement in my communication skills as well, but that I have to still do more in that direction. Then, about a week or two later, I had a chat with the line manager, who assured me that the department had taken a stand that they would keep me on till I wished to leave. This message of permanence has really lifted up my spirits as I know now that my job is more or less secure at the Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

I continue to stay in the hospital quarters, but it does look like I might need to move out before the end of February next year. I am hoping to find alternative accommodation before my time runs out. 

I missed doing any locum duties in the month of October as I was on annual vacation. My family arrived from India to spend three weeks with me, and the last week of October got simply washed out with all the excitement and memories of my previous 20+ days. From November, however, I began to get locum jobs once again, and with the help of the earnings from there, my savings accounts are now slowly but surely getting augmented. 

More in subsequent posts. Keep visiting and reading my posts, and if you wish, share your thoughts and comments. Thank you.

A Year in the U.K. - My personal life

I landed at Manchester airport on the evening of the 14th of November last year. The time was around 3:30 in the afternoon, but it looked as if it was nearly dusk in Mumbai around the same evening! It was drizzling and dark. I caught a train from the Manchester airport railway station and reached Poulton-le-Fylde station at about half past five. Outside, it was dark and dreary. It was raining. I caught a cab without a metre, and was dropped outside the A&E of the Blackpool Victoria Hospital, with the driver charging me a whopping 14 pounds! 

From that day, when I was hit by the British winter in full force, until today, as I write this, I have certainly come a long way. I have had some really unique experiences, and am in a life that is quite different from the one I lived in my two previous lives - in India, and in Saudi Arabia. This post is about how my life has changed in the past year.

From the hot, dry deserts of Saudi Arabia to the pleasant monsoon climes of India and then to the temperate Atlantic-weather of Blackpool has all been overwhelming, really, Within a few days of my arrival, I experienced cold winds on the Promenade while doing my first shopping for essentials. The next three months were all new territory for me. In December, I attended my very first Christmas party organised by the nurses of the Paediatric department. It was - kind of - exciting to be able to be in the company of so many people, most of whom I didn't even know. And then, to be asked to join them all in a dance. And to partake of a Christmas meal with prawn cocktail, a drink, a fish entree and then a sinful chocolate dessert. Quite a lot of fun.

The days I have walked 10000 steps ... ahh, wasn't that amazing. I took part in the 5K challenge (running 5 km) on behalf of the Blue Skies Fund (the in-hospital registered charity) - with just 30-40 other participants on a cold, wet morning. And the days I went around Blackpool, exploring its roads, the Promenade, its restaurants, and its unique flavour. Those linger on as really good memories. 

Then there are my peregrinations in and around Stanley Park, the urban park that acts as a nature reserve in addition to being a recreation park in Blackpool. It has football grounds, a cricket ground, gymnasia, children's outdoor activities and a large water body with avifauna all around the year. It allows adults to fish in these waters for fresh-water fish. The park affords the bird-watcher with ample opportunities to observe birds all around the year. This includes the water birds, of course, but also so many tree species, some of which I saw for the first time in my life. I have, of course, tried to document all the birds that I could with my Canon DSLR.

I then joined the Royal Society for the Preservation of Birds and visited many bird parks and reserves around Blackpool. The most memorable one will be the Turbary Woods Birds of Prey and Owl sanctuary at Preston, but others also featured. 

My travels took me to the Peak District where I walked part of the famous Monsal trail, and to Cumbria and the Lake District, where I visited Windermere lake and town. I also saw a lot of Preston, Manchester, Liverpool, Buxton, Silverdale, Lancaster, and a few more towns near about me. My travel was limited, of course, by the fact that I own no car, and I get a few days of weekend leave to do my travelling. Be that as it may, I have travelled more in the last 1 year in the UK than I did in India over the previous 50+ years (I am, of course, talking of travel on foot, and only for leisure).

Next, on to my culinary adventures. Well, I have mostly persisted with Indian style cooking, but occasionally, I have tried English cooking, and it has nearly always turned into a less than satisfying experience. Eating out, on the other hand, has been very fulfilling. I have tried, for the first time in my life, authentic, low-price Greek, Italian, Jamaican and French food. And I have enjoyed every such encounter. The most memorable one for me will be eating at Nuncio in Blackpool, an Italian restaurant where they served me excellent seafood risotto. Another one to not forget would be the Greek food I had at Othello's in Blackpool.  Among Indian restaurants I visited, how can I not recall the food I had at Manchester at Chennai Dosa, or the one I had at Imli in Lytham? There are others too, but this blog post would run into several pages if I carried on.

Shopping is a treat in the U.K. There is something for every budget. There are numerous pound shops that deal in thousands of articles that sell for a pound. Then, there are mid-level places where you can find decent merchandise for a low price. You won't have to pay a king's ransom for shopping at such outlets. They include H & M, Primark, TK Maxx for clothes, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Lidl, ASDA and others for groceries, Boots for Pharmacy, the thousands of corner shops run by Asian guys that sell recharges, newspapers, daily provisions and so on.

The major difficulty I have had is in terms of finding regular company when I am not working. This is the price you pay when you decide to work in a foreign country without your family and friends. I have made a lot of casual friends, and tens of Facebook friends, but when it comes to real friends with whom you can spend an evening over dinner or invite to your place to have fun, I have had just a few of them. One of them, a certain Michael Siong, was a gem of a person. I miss him, as he moved on from Blackpool, first, to London, and now, he is in Scotland. 

And that's about it for this post. Do let me know your opinions on how you found it. Comment, if you wish, in the space below. Share it with your friends if you wish, Thank you so much.