Well I’ve arrived safely in Inverness (it always sounds silly when you say “in Inverness” out loud). I had a lovely drive up, despite having to get out of bad at, gasp, 7am! I was at home the day before I left to pick up a few things, but forgot to grab my snow shovel. I decided it was probably unwise to set off into potentially blizzard conditions without a shovel, so detoured home to get it.
Leaving so early the sun hasn't even risen
The A96 up to Inverness was, thankfully, completely clear. There was only one 50m section near Huntly where there was snow and slush encroaching onto the road in any significant fashion. This did not stop people driving at 40mph. This is very frustrating on a single carriageway road with no where to overtake. I am of course advocating people moderate their driving according to the conditions, but just because it has been snowing, does not mean you need to drive slowly when you can see clearly there are no hazards ahead. The sedate pace did afford me the opportunity to admire the scenery en route.
A96 between Huntly and Keith
It took about two and a half hours to reach Inverness from home, but I did stop at Tesco in Keith to grab a wrap as I hadn’t had time for breakfast. After a initial wrong turn I got back on track and into the hospital grounds. A friend had told me where at accommodation office was, so I drove around the whole estate looking for the elusive sign that indicated Kyle Court. I found it in the last place I looked, but was pleasantly surprised at how easy everything was once I got inside. They were expecting me; everything I needed including both keys, were in a single envelope; there was no health and safety briefing and no paperwork to complete. It’s the easiest move in I’ve ever done, but I guess with medical students rotating in and out every 5 weeks things are bound to be slick.
View of the helipad and Raigmore
I managed to navigate the keypad controlled front door to the block, the locked flat door and my locked room door eventually, although with much shuffling of luggage and keys. I was just getting the last of my clothes into the cupboard when I heard the flat door open. Thinking I should probably introduce myself to my new flatmate, I went to say hello. I was pleasantly surprised to discover Abdi, who is in my year, staring back at me with a very surprised look on his face. Once we got over the initial “what are you doing here” routine, he told me that everyone in the flat was from our year.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have much time to chat as I was expected at the GP surgery where my research project is taking place.
