Bit of an accident

 On the way to dinner last night I caught my shoe in one of the gaps on the marina pontoon, and fell flat on my face. Not fun. I have a cut over my left eye, which Julian cleaned very carefully then put a plaster on. After that we carried on to our dinner reservation at the Ferry Inn. where I anesthetised myself with a glass of wine and a whisky. (not a course of action I would recommend but I was pretty sure I did not have a concussion). The waitress very kindly got me some ice wrapped in a cloth which I kept on my cheek which was beginning to swell. The ice did its job, and the swelling went down.

Today Julian and I took COVID tests (negative) before getting the bus into Kirkwall to go to A&E. I had not seen the cut, but Julian thought it might need stitches. Turns out that I should have gone straight there, as they will not stitch after 12 hours have passed, but the doctor who saw me did not think it needed stitches anyway. They examined me very carefully for concussion, and gave me a tetanus booster, and an antibiotic just in case of infection, then put a new dressing on and sent me home. All very friendly, and no queue in A&E.

We had had all sorts of plans of what to do with the day, but in the event we just walked from the hospital into Kirkwall. The weather was beautiful, blue sky and warm sun, and we had lunch then a lazy wander and a doze on the grass by St Magnus Cathedral before getting the bus back to Stromness.

Once there we moved Robinetta from her arrival berth to one marked for visitors, and began to plan how to get home tomorrow. Unfortunately when Victoria arrived she told us we could not stay. We would have to go round to Kirkwall Marina, which is much larger, if we wanted to leave Robinetta in Orkney. Careful checking of the weather and tides resolved the problem. We will head for Loch Eribol tomorrow, then round Cape Wrath to Kinlochbervie, where the harbour master has said he is happy for us to leave Robinetta for a while. This was our original plan for the end of the week. So much for slowing down and taking it easy!