“It’s a tough job being a vet, but you can never ruin our appetites.”

Wivek came up with this statement last week. I went in to join my colleagues for lunch on one of my days off and as I had arrived a bit early, Wivek collared me and dragged me off to her consulting room to show me a particularly unappealing case. We do get all sorts of unpleasant things in to deal with, from stinking abscesses to rabbits that are infested with maggots. Yet as soon as someone says “It’s time for lunch,” we can be immediately ready to eat. Of course, we would never leave an ongoing case that needed treatment. Sometimes, if it’s just too busy, we miss out on lunch completely. But there is almost nothing that occurs with animals that would put me off washing my hands and going off to devour whatever delight I have with me.

I do seem to have done more socialising this week than actual work. Tuesday was very quiet and Thursday was a day off for ascension day and on Wednesday night, Irene had a party. Not just any party, I might add. This was a Singstar party. If (like me about two weeks ago) you have no idea what Singstar is, it’s a PlayStation video game where two (or more) people compete by singing along to a music track. I confess that I found this concept almost as appealing as being poo’d on by an elephant with diarrhoea, but with promises of Jan-Arne’s sweet potato fries and Marita’s wonderful focaccia, I was finally convinced that there might be enough positives to make up for the potential trauma of making an absolute ass of myself.

I needn’t have worried. Having arrived unfashionably early (like about an hour before anyone else) to Jan-Arne’s party a few months back, I checked carefully with Irene what time things would be getting under way. Having been told I could get there from about seven (and help set things up) I finally managed to get out of my own front door at about eight-fifteen. Obviously I have a talent for arriving at the wrong time, whenever that might be. Still, there was much food preparation still taking place. Jan-Arne was rushing around dressed in shorts (and at one point a pair of blue light-up cats ears) trying to get three enormous trayfuls of sweet-potatoes to turn crispy. Wivek arrived with her dog Ida (pictured at the top of the page) clutching an enormous meringue base and a punnet of strawberries. Meanwhile Marita and Per Egil were bashing into the wine, presumably in a (very sensible) attempt to ensure their vocal cords were suitably lubricated to allow them to sing beautifully.

In the event, the food was wonderful. And I only managed to stay for three songs (none of them sung by me) as I had to dash off and collect Charlie from the airport. Despite my best efforts to convince him to return to the party with me, he politely declined. Obviously when it comes to being a party-animal, he’s more of a Scottish wildcat than a friendly lion.

Anyway, enough of the words. Time for some photos.