Sunrise/sunset: 08:20/16:43 Daylength: 8hr23min

I was sitting in bed on Monday morning when the phone rang. It was just after seven and I was reading, having already been awake for a couple of hours: a regular occurrence in the past weeks. I had been taken out of the rota and was enjoying not having to rush in. It was Trude on the phone and I wondered for a moment whether someone was sick, but to my surprise, she asked if I had overslept. It took me a moment to understand and then I clicked. I hadn’t been taken out of the rota at all. I had been moved to Vet 1 position – the lairage. I should, by now, be in the lairage and half way through my inspection of the live animals.

Until a vet has checked the live animals, no slaughtering is allowed. My absence meant that the entire operation – everyone who works on the line – would be an hour late in starting. If that resulted in running over to the end of the day, the financial cost would be enormous.

Within a few minutes, I was in the car and then Trude rang again. Ingrid had arrived early for her shift and was going to start for me. Though I was relieved, my world still felt as if it was cracking apart as I drove in. On Friday I had discovered two other errors I had made. On Thursday, I had forgotten to put on the chain mail tabard which protects us from knife stick injuries as I went to the line, and only realised after forty minutes. In itself , each individual mistake could be within normal limits, but it was happening too often and the reality is that I don’t have the kind of job where there is much room for error.

Last week, I wrote “I am rationally aware that I am no longer fully functional, yet on another level, I don’t feel incapacitated enough to take sick leave” but this felt like the final straw. Even after a weekend off, I was too dysfunctional to work safely. It took me all I had to keep my voice steady as I called Hilde. With only two and a half weeks to go, and at the height of the season, it was the last thing I wanted to do, but I was genuinely afraid I would do something bad that couldn’t be undone, and so, this week, I have been at home resting.

Not that resting has been easy to achieve. The upcoming move is hanging over me all the time. Though I think most of the arrangements are now in place, there will be a lot to do in the next couple of weeks. Pickford’s are coming on Thursday to pack up my worldly goods and take them on their journey to Scotland. After that, I have to make sure the house is cleared and clean. Fortunately, due to Kaj buying my car, that will be less complicated than it could have been, but it will be a big upheaval, nonetheless.

I had a narrow escape with changing over my phone provider as well. Work have supplied me with a phone for the past three years and have released the number so I can take it over. Obviously, in the UK, I will need to get a new one, but life these days is so mobile dependant that I don’t want to set off on my complicated journey to the UK without one. It was only when I had contacted my new supplier, that I remembered they would have to send me a new SIM… to North Norway… in the post. It says it should arrive in 5-7 working days and I know it has been sent with ten day to spare. Fingers crossed it will arrive in time. And of course, with the unforced errors at work, I am worried that there will be something I have forgotten with regard to my move. So far, the worst thing I’ve done is to cancel my internet provider too late, so I have to pay a month’s notice which is frustrating but not disastrous.

Anyway, I will be returning to work on Monday. I feel less tired after my week off, although the problem with extreme brain fog, linked to forgetfulness, is that you don’t necessarily recognize there’s a problem until it’s too late. I’m down as Vet 1 again on Monday and this time, I have my computer at home and can double check things. So long as there’s nothing too complicated to deal with, it should be fine.

On Wednesday night this week, there was an aurora. I had been waiting and hoping the skies would clear, and to my joy, there it was! I stood outside in the darkness, watching those mesmerising rivers of light dancing across the sky. Another last, perhaps. I will almost certainly come back, but people who holiday here can’t guarantee seeing it, though I am told it has been quite visible over the UK recently, so who knows? Anyway, I didn’t get any great photos, but here is a last view of my little house, bathed in the emerald glow of the northern night sky.

I received a message on Thursday morning from my friend Shirley inviting me round for an evening of cheese and port. “Stay over if you want to” it said. Well, with Covid measures in the recent past, and moving up here during them, I’ve not been invited to so many parties in the past three years. Cheese and wine is also a fairly British institution and Shirley’s Scottish friend Linda was still over and so, mentally already packing my bags, I agreed immediately. What a fabulous evening we had. I arrived to find this wonderful spread.

Within minutes of arriving, we were in gales of laughter about something or other. It’s been a while since that’s happened too and I think it’s the first time I’ve felt so relaxed since I started planning the move. I wrote most of this yesterday at home, but am currently in a comfortable bed in Shirley’s basement flat. I will be going home today to do some cleaning, but will return this evening. Shirley is going to the cinema with her husband, Kai, but Linda will be here and there’s still a lot of delicious cheese left. It’s looking like a much more exciting weekend than I could have imagined.

Thanks for reading!