Postcard from Canada – Aussie impact!
Thought you might like another postcard before we disappear off into the wide blue yonder for EIGHT – count them – EIGHT weeks of holidays!! You might feel marginally less jealous if I tell you that we are camping in a tent! The photo is one that Greg put together at Drumheller
Go the Socceroos! How about them Aussies eh? You will notice that I have slipped into the Canadian vernacular here but changed the words so that you will understand more easily but you get the gist.
Here in ‘Edo’ (had to give it an Aussie slant!) we are in the middle of sporting fever given that the local team, the Oilers, have made it into the finals of something called The Stanley Cup – no, we hadn’t heard of it either. This, of course, is the sport of ‘hockey’ which, as everyone knows really is ice hockey and is adored by Canadians from all walks of life. It actually is a great unifier and most cars (including ours) and shops have Oiler flags. The newspapers are full of it on a daily basis and it has been a great teaching tool. As there are seven games in each round there has certainly has been no shortage of material.
But we Aussies are certainly showing the flag too here in little old Edo. Our oldest son, Luke was invited to play his trumpet at the Winspear Centre – apparently a great honour as it is their version of the Opera House, so naturally we all went to hear him. On the way home we stopped at a red light intersection when I saw a bloke on a bike, no helmet and no lights coming towards us the wrong way down the one way, very busy, Calgary Trail. He attempted to traverse the intersection in front of us but was collected by the second car off from the light change. He landed with a sickening thud in front of us so naturally we got out, as we are both trained first aid officers and local bushfire brigade members and so we have dealt with some traffic situations.
It was pretty clear he was unconscious and breathing very loudly but lying face down in a rapidly expanding pool of blood. I thought he needed to be turned in case he drowned but Greg was concerned about neck/spine injuries – we were the front runners of the rapidly gathering crowd – the traffic was blocked, remember? – when this serendipitous Aussie voice called out ‘Let me through I’m a doctor!’ Dr Ann had been in Edo for only six days and she was driving the first car from the lights – the one that didn’t hit the cyclist. She naturally took over and relieved us of the pressure of possibly making the wrong decision! So Greg started directing traffic and I got one of the sightseeing, hyperventilating women to make herself useful and ring for an ambulance and the police. Aren’t mobile phones wonderful? Got another woman to look after the driver who was clearly in shock, organised a pillow etc.
The fire brigade arrived first and had a neck brace, back board and breathing equipment so they had stabilised him before the ambos got there. It was all done very efficiently and quickly and not least due to the Aussie presence. There were two kinds of cop that arrived, one were ‘normal’ guys and they wanted to get witness statements but they didn’t have any pens (!!!) so I got some out of the car and handed them around with instructions, clipboards and statement sheets.
Then ‘Robo-cop’ arrived on his motorbike. Greg, at 6ft 4, was craning his neck to look up at this bloke complete with helmet, night vision sunnies & hands-free face-hugging mic. He was about as big as an Easter island statue. ‘OK, let me just get this straight. You collecting the witness statements – you’re an Aussie, the guy directing the traffic is also an Aussie and then the doc over there is another Aussie – the bloke picking up the bike is another Aussie… Are you guys having a convention here or something?’
He found it hard to believe that it was all a coincidence. Maybe that’s how the good guys sometimes end up on the wrong side of the law???
The next day at school, all Luke’s friends had seen his dad directing the traffic and we were all on the telly – obviously a slow night in Edo but go the Aussies – eh?
See also
Postcard from Canada eZine| May 2006
Postcard from Edmonton, Canada eZine | February 2006
The Working Holiday of a Lifetime eZine | November 2005
