"I was 23 and thought I had found my path in life. I'd always wanted to work with animals, and I had just landed a job as a vet nurse in Melbourne. I was still learning the ropes, but I imagined I would stay there for years, building a life around the work. Then, five months in, the vet called me into his office and told me it wasn't working out. It's not you, he said, I just really hate training people."
"I had always liked Billy: I'd watched plenty of his standup shows on TV, laughing at his stories about growing up in Glasgow. But this was different. The programme, which had come out a few years previously, in 1994, was a love letter to Scotland, full of history, humour and stunning scenery. I had never studied British or Irish history at school, so everything he was talking about — the castles, the battles, the wild coastlines — was brand new to me."
"Six months later I had saved enough money to book a trip. I flew into Edinburgh, and as soon as I stepped outside the airport I felt a jolt of recognition, as though something had clicked into place. It was like I had grown up in the wrong country. I spent the first week on a coach tour of the Highlands, then hired a car and drove around the south."
A 23-year-old vet nurse in Melbourne lost her job five months into the role when the veterinarian said he disliked training staff. She returned home upset and considered abandoning her career plans. While watching television she saw Billy Connolly's World Tour of Scotland and became captivated by his warmth, humour and the country's landscapes and history. Six months later she saved money and traveled to Scotland, experiencing an immediate sense of belonging upon arrival. She toured the Highlands, drove through the south, and felt as though she had grown up in the wrong country, prompting a reassessment of her life direction.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]