As a farm vet, though you may encounter several clients over the course of the day, there is no getting away from the fact a large proportion of your time is spent driving alone.
The amount will vary wildly between areas, but as I work in quite an urban setting, I spend more hours in the car than I do in the office.
When I speak to people who are not ambulatory vets, they often balk at the idea of a two-hour drive to get back from a far-flung routine, but it’s become completely normal to me. I think this is partly due to the fact I’m fortunate to have a comfortable car, but also because I’ve learned to embrace in-car entertainment that doesn’t involve listening to the same 25 songs on loop on a certain radio station.
Here are a few ways in which I’ve whiled away some lonely hours.
Podcasts
Though initially (and probably embarrassingly) I did not quite understand what they were, I got into podcasts through Radio 4’s Friday night comedy show, The News Quiz. If you’re into comedy, the BBC showcase a new comedy programme each week, helpfully called “Comedy of the Week”. Subscribing to this is basically the equivalent of Sky-Plussing the shows you miss when not driving.
Something distinctly more low-brow and definitely not appropriate for when students are in the car is the cringe-worthy yet hilarious My Dad Wrote a Porno. I’m not going to embarrass myself explaining it, but suffice to say it needs to be paused before you wind the window down to ask for directions. I shall not be held accountable for any damage to your reputation as a result of forgetting this advice.
I also enjoy This American Life and Serial for random, semi-educational stories. For those of you in to true crime – or in the business of scaring yourself senseless just before you hop out into a farm at night – Generation Why and Lore are pretty good.
There’s a whole world out there, from How Stuff Works to No Such Thing as a Fish, to sports to philosophy – if you’re not using Apple’s podcast app, Android-friendly Stitcher and Podcast Addict are free and simple to use.
Audiobooks
First, I dismissed audio books as reading for lazy people, and believed there would be something missing from my literary experience if I wasn’t holding a book in my hand. Alas, I rarely find time to sit down with a physical book, and it seems a criminal waste of time to not try to cram in books when driving.
Often, audiobooks are narrated by the author, which really adds to the expression of the words, especially when they are autobiographical.
On first glance, audiobooks are expensive, but I’ve found Audible (Amazon’s monthly subscription service) quite reasonable at £7.99. This credits you one book every month. I’m currently obsessed with Michelle Obama’s Becoming, recently enjoyed Dolly Alderton’s Everything I Know About Love, and if you’re stuck for inspiration, Adam Kay’s This is Going to Hurt is fast becoming a cult favourite among medical professionals (both human and animal).
Group chat
Of course, you could always have a good, old-fashioned conversation with a friend, but if, like me, you have anxiety over a potential game of phone tennis, create a group chat with friends also in ambulatory jobs that may be able to talk during the day. That way, if you’re about to head off on a journey, you can drop a message into the group to the tune of “Driving for next 40 minutes if anyone’s free,” and that leaves you open to receive calls from anyone who is available.
It’s a low-pressure way to catch up with old vet-school friends who understand you may need to drop a call at a second’s notice.
None of the above is rocket science, and all require a little bit of forward planning to make sure everything is downloaded and ready to safely (and legally) play either through Bluetooth or a wired connector, but by having them I have genuinely found myself looking forward to journeys where I can become immersed in a good story.
In the spirit of sharing some inspiration – do you have any podcast or audiobook recommendations?
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