On The Night Shift

God, I hate nights shifts! Mainly because I tend to spend an entire week of my life in reverse, tired, grumpy and I see only about an hour of sunlight a day!

I'm going to work when everyone around me is settling down for the night.

It starts off completely mad, so I haven't even got time to tie my boot laces before we go racing off on an "I Grade" call (Immediate Response) or become assigned to the many outstanding calls still to attend.

Then every thing seems to slow down. I may get called to assist with the occasional drunk by the LAS (London Ambulance Service) or domestic that has sparked during the early hours of the night. Or I might stumble across a driver who is over the alcohol limit.

There's also something inherently wrong with eating a burger or kebab at 3am when I've not been drinking!

Problem is, that as I start seeing the clock run down, the world is waking up and with each tick of the clock brings the possibility of a shout that causes me to go way over my finish time.

Then there is the issue on my last night onto my rest days.

Do I sleep and ruin a precious day off? Or do I stay awake and become grumpy, tired and see my day off go by in a sleepy haze where I'm too tired to do anything I needed to do.

Nights do have their benefits though. Whilst I'm driving home, the opposite way to traffic and watching you all sit in jams heading to the office.

I'm the one grinning and going past you the other way

.....to my bed!

G'Night all!



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