Devonshire Oct to Dec 17

The Old Vet’nary
by Ken Watson
A life on the road
a friendly, family practice
Somewhere back in the 70s
the cost of a visit by a vet was
so cheap that I was kept busy,
between surgery times, careering
around the roads of Plymouth
and surrounding countryside
to fit in a dozen or more home
visits every day. This was a very
Ken's Triumph TR6
satisfying time, allowing me to
bond with people and their pets
in their homes.
One day my wife said to me, “As
you spend so much time on the
road, why don’t you get yourself
a good car to enjoy it”. So I did, a
low mileage Triumph TR6, garish
in it’s body colours, which had
obviously been someone’s pride
and joy. The only snag was its
clutch pedal, which needed a
superhuman effort to depress. A
kindly mechanic made me a raised
wooden shoe which he fixed to
the pedal to ease depression, but
it still had a mighty kick.
When I first arrived at the
surgery in it there was a
lot of banter about midlife
crisis and bird pullers,
but I rose above it all and
I thoroughly enjoyed my
time driving it. It had
a hard removable top
which spent most of its
time suspended from
the garage ceiling and a
client made me a tonneau which
covered all except the driver’s seat;
but unfortunately I had the only
two proper accidents I have ever
had while driving. In both cases
another car drove into me. In the
worst incident I was travelling
along a residential street parallel
to Plymouth’s Alma Road when
a car shot out of a side road and
'Wilson'
...Providing the highest standards
of professional veterinary care
OPENING TIMES
Monday - Friday: 8.30am - 6.30pm
Saturday: 8.30am - 12.30pm
Consultations by Appointment
EMERGENCY SERVICE
For out of hours veterinary attention
or advice please ring 01752 700600
PLYMOUTH
01752 700600
Burnett Road, Manadon,
Plymouth PL6 5BH
IVYBRIDGE
01752 690999
Cornwood Road, Woodlands,
Ivybridge PL21 9JJ
Part Time Clinic at Yealmpton
struck me on the left rear wheel,
making my car spin through 180
degrees, so that I ended up facing
the way I had just come. They say
that in incidents such as this you
see everything in slow motion and
I can vouch for the truth of that.
As my car spun round, I watched
by Richard Woodward
in dreamy horror as I aimed for a
substantial looking metal lamp
post. A yard short of impact my
rear tyre burst with a bang and
stopped my spin dead. Someone
was watching over me that day.
Driving had not always been that
luxurious. I learnt to drive and
passed the text in a Morris Minor,
that most simple and dependable
of cars. After that I did not drive a
car for two years, except for a one
day hire of an Austin Cambridge.
Geordie drives one in the latest
series of Grantchester. It had a
steering column gear shift and
was a very boring car. We also,
for a Norfolk holiday, hired an
ancient Opel which jumped out
of third gear up every hill and
every 50 miles or so, deciding it
needed a rest and refused to go
any further until it had a rest in a
layby or farm gateway. Then we
moved to Streatley-On-Thames
for the final, clinical, year of Vet
College, and the only digs we
could afford was an ancient
caravan which be bought from
another student for £150. When
continued on page 94
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