Reminiscences of past winters 2

In 1981 I had started in general practice on Jan 4th. The weather was terrible and I scraped the side of my car doors against a low wall that was covered with snow. That was before I arrived at work.  Oh dear. So embarrassing.  Not long into my tenure the snow was bad and we had to borrow a tractor to do home visits. That was fun once, but not when it had to be used again. Most patients in the outlying areas were very good and did not call.
One night I went to North Skelton to visit a family who lived up a farm lane. The directions were not too helpful, and I found my car stuck on a narrow track. I could not move in either direction. I walked about 300 yards back to the village and went into the tiny pub. I was covered in snow from head to foot. There was a sudden silence as I entered. I said "I'm the new doctor, and my car is stuck in the snow, and I need help to get it out" or words to that effect. The silence was deafening and for a few seconds I thought that no one would respond. Then a few men downed their pints, put on their wellies and came with me. They lifted my little mini and turned it 180 degrees so I could drive back down the lane.  Wonderful.  I never found the house and the poorly child recovered without my attention!