Only a short post today as I'm up to mischief a little later tonight...

Today in my training course I was reminded about how to deal with mental health patients, how to recognise child abuse and about the new folders we have to build explaining how we are continuing our education in order to get paid. Most of it was refresher stuff although there was an interesting bit about the capacity to refuse treatment. Something I should do a post on later.

There is a reason that I dislike working nights at this time of year, I suspect that it has to do with the love I have of animals. Even squicky ones. During the night, when it is damp, the snails come out. Perfectly camouflaged against garden paths, each one is like a little landmine of guilt. I have size twelve feet, my eyesight isn't the best and each snail that I crush makes me want to weep. I watch them during the day, their friendly little eyes looking up at me as they go on their merry way. Little do they know my unwitting genocide against their species.

I found myself the other night, picking my way through an overgrown garden to attend to an elderly man with a belly ache - nothing particularly serious but his garden path, long and dark was obviously full of snails. Soon to be deceased snails.

So out came my torch and I carefully picked my way between them, my crewmate (hoof-footed fool that he is) managed to splat one of them by accident. After discovering that out patient wasn't too ill my crewmate helped him get his coat and keys while I snuck out in the garden and started picking the snails out of the way of the partially sighted patient. I'm sorry to say that in my eagerness to save as many as possible one died in a 'friendly fire' incident.

The patient came shuffling out of the house and, despite my feeble torch light and my evacuation of as many of our shelled friends as possible, he still managed to step on two of them. Each one was a chain of guilt around my heart.

I know it is strange to post about such things here, but these are the things that go through your mind at 2am in the morning.

(And yes, I know that snails are considered pests to gardeners - but I'm not a gardener, I think I'm a frustrated Jainist - although perhaps not, as I'd quite happily roll some of our 'regulars' into the canal).