Baggage

I’d like anyone reading this to understand a couple of things…..I’m going on a Medical elective to WORK………I’m not going on HOLIDAY.

However………

My baggage may tell a slightly different story, Qantas have allowed me 23kg in exchange for my 1800 quid, and it breaks down something like this.

Surfboard + bag 7kg

Snorkelling kit 1.5kg

Fly fishing kit 1kg

Other Fishing kit 2kg

Sunblock 0.5kg

Small bottle of gin (medicinal) 0.5kg

Books X4 2kg

Laptop + camera 2kg

Clothing 3.5kg

Wash bag 0.5kg

1 box of examination gloves 500g

Oxford handbook of clinical medicine 20g

Stethoscope 10g

I’ll save you the calculation, it’s a 40:1 ratio by weight of toys to medical equipment (about 200:1 by volume) but I’d like to reiterate, I’m not going on holiday. I even left one of my surfboards behind to make room for the box of examination gloves, the self sacrifice is unending.

I’m writing this as the Devon and Somerset countryside slip past the train window, cows heads are bowed to the pasture under a slate grey sky and the woodland has that dark green you only see in mid summer. There is plenty of purple buddleia on the sidings to break up the green but the butterflies are in short supply at this time of the morning.

Fortunately the scenery is taking my mind off the fact that I’m cutting things a little fine with the connection times between trains and aeroplanes. If everything runs smoothly I’ll be fine, if it doesn’t, well I’m screwed. My 20kg bag of fun will still be in Heathrow as Mr Qantas buggers off to Sydney without me. Everything that can be crossed has been crossed, all bits of wood have been touched and if I had a lucky rabbit foot, I’d have rubbed the little furry totem bare by now……….