Aiding and abetting

Quite excitingly, I've just become a First Aider. I can now offer initial care for an illness or injury without too much risk of litigation. Hurrah! I even have a pin badge and a little red wallet to prove it (see pic).

I could pretend it was some deep routed desire to help my fellow man that caused me to sign up for the course but you and I both know it wasn't. As it happened, there was a need to fill our quota of first aiders at work and somebody suggested little old me.

"What the hell?" I thought, it was probably worth doing, especially with Baby George around nowadays. Also, I'd heard first aiders got an extra £30 quid in their monthly pay packet. In the end it was simply the kind of offer a tight, Scottish git just can't refuse.

Predictably though, after initial misgivings, I really did find it an empowering and joyous experience. 6 of us attended the sessions at the drearily shabby Europa Hotel in Crawley and, despite the depressing surroundings, I found there was an incredible sense of camaraderie between us, strangers, some builders, some site managers, some teachers, thrown together for 3 days.

We lunched, learnt and as schamltzy as it sounds, bonded a little. By the end of day two we'd discovered one of us was a £120 000 Lottery winner, another had handled poisonous snakes in Africa, a third fainted at the sight of blood (ideal for a first aider) and a fourth bore striking resemblance to the current England Football Manager. By the 3rd day, even the instructor was addressing him as 'Fabio'.

It was fantastic to be learning something new, something practical, something that could potentially save a life. I realised it was probably the first time I'd actively learnt a new skill since taking my driving test a good 4/5 years ago. Most heart warming though, was the support all the students gave each other, politely correcting mistakes and encouraging where necessary - the very essence of being a first aider I suppose - empathy.

I loved it! In fact, I was a little sad to shake hands goodbye. Still, at least I'll be seeing one of them, albeit on screen, during the World Cup this summer. The added bonus being that if anyone watching with me faints from the stress of another penalty shoot-out exit I'll now know what to do - A scary responsibility.