: The Life of a Yorkshire Vet

by Norton, Julian

  People often ask what it is like to have a camera crew following us around all the time. The answer is that to begin with, it was challenging, time-consuming and often intrusive. But over the months, everyone at the practice has become great friends with the team, and we all have complete trust in them, their professionalism and their skill. Without this, we would be very vulnerable. Now we are used to it, we often don’t feel as if we are being filmed at all. The camera crew are our close friends, with whom we share the rollercoaster of emotions that are intrinsic to our jobs in the veterinary profession. It isn’t a hassle to take them along on a call, or to have them in to film a consultation. It is a privilege to be able to show off our work to anyone who might find it interesting.

  It has taken a while for us to reach this point though. Half way through the sunny summer of 2015, my stress levels were at a new high, and Anne and the boys were having to put up with me being tired and grumpy. None of us knew how the programme would be received. We were convinced that we would look silly and inept. We hadn’t appreciated the degree of exposure to which we would be subjected and I swore, much like Steve Redgrave after his penultimate Olympic gold, that I would never do this again. I had seen small snippets of footage as they were played back on the cameras, and I had watched a short clip of me calving a cow in the middle of the night, which did look good, but at this point, we had not seen any complete pieces of filming. The first finished piece I saw was filmed by David. He is a skilled and experienced director with a careful eye for detail. He showed me a clip that would go into the first or second episode. It was of me talking on the telephone, to the owner of a cat upon which I had just been operating. It was bad news. I spoke for a few minutes and, unadulterated by background music and the splicing in of cute animal scenes, it was just me blathering on the telephone. I thought it looked terrible and, far from buoying me with excitement as David had hoped, it filled me with dread.

  Peter and I had been given permission to view the ‘rough cuts’ before the final edit and release to Channel 5. This was so we could check them for accuracy. If there was anything that had been portrayed unclearly, or aspects with which we were not completely comfortable, we could say so at this point, and they would be altered. On one Thursday in August, we went round to Paul’s office to watch the first episode. We were both very nervous. It was the first time we had seen ourselves as others see us, and it was immeasurably weird. Aside from this, we were both astonished at what had been created from our basic and reasonably inept work in front of the camera. The editors had worked some sort of magic. It was an emotional first episode because it included the story of head nurse Sarah’s own dog, Copper, who had to be euthanased due to an inoperable tumour. Sarah bravely allowed this to be filmed and, by this time, knew it would feature in the first episode. We had been adamant from the outset that we would not do things differently just because we were being filmed, and Copper’s case was testament to this. Afterwards, when I went back to the practice, Sarah was the first to rush up to ask what it was like. With tears in my eyes, all I could say was, ‘It’s bloody brilliant!’

  Excitement was mounting, both in Thirsk and at Daisybeck. The first Sunday in September was the day the programme would be launched, and Paul had booked the Ritz Cinema in Thirsk to show a preview of the first episode. The cinema is a fabulous place, run by volunteers. It first opened in 1912 and is one of the oldest continuously run cinemas in the country. It has just one screen, with stalls and a balcony, but shows all the latest films, and everyone in Thirsk goes there. It seemed an entirely appropriate venue. The great and the good from Yorkshire were invited, as well as important people from the media world. Even the commissioning editor of Channel 5 had made the journey from London for the occasion.

  I had been out on my bike that morning around the beautiful Hambleton Hills, which would feature strongly in the forthcoming episodes. I needed to clear my head and have some time to myself. The fresh air and exertion of a climb up Boltby Bank was perfect. As ever, I had tagged an extra loop onto my ride and was running slightly late. About twenty minutes before the show was due to start, I whizzed through Thirsk market place on my way back home. As I passed the cinema I could barely believe my eyes. There was a red carpet and two life-sized posters each emblazoned with a picture of me with my faithful dog, Emmy. Only a few days before, Daisybeck had pronounced that, since the programme was called The Yorkshire Vet, it was important that one of us actually took the title role. That person was, they said, to be me. This hadn’t been made clear at the outset but now I was the person on all the pictures and, as I lined up on the red carpet with Anne, Jack, Archie, my parents, my sister Kate, and loads of other friends and colleagues, I sensed that in many ways, life might not be quite the same again.

  Six months later, and it turned out that this was a fair prediction. In many ways, nothing has changed at all. The patients in the waiting room still need to be attended to, anal glands still need to be emptied, cows still need to be calved in the middle of the night. The shopping still needs to be done, the kids ferried to school, hockey, tennis and swimming, and the dog walked. In other ways, much has changed. I knew I had really made the big time when the local fishmonger asked me for a ‘selfie’, but I was still rather surprised when I was recognized by an airline steward at Leeds Bradford Airport. I was invited to cut the red ribbon to open Easingwold Christmas tree shop, and Pete and I were even asked to switch on the Christmas lights in Thirsk!

  It wasn’t long before there was talk of a second series. The idea had initially filled me with dread. At one point I resolved to write a note to myself, reminding me of how demanding the filming process had been. The note was to be opened after the first series had been aired as a way of deterring me from doing it all again. But, in the Norton household, we have something of a motto to explain what drives us to challenge ourselves. It goes along the lines of: ‘Because it would be easier not to’.

  It is the feeling I had when I stood at the bottom of the Frendo Spur above Chamonix, and the feeling I get as I pull on my wetsuit to swim in a cold and pondweed-infested lake. It is difficult at the time and it is undoubtedly easier to turn round and go home, where the sofa is comfy and the glass of wine is tempting. But afterwards, we know that the extra effort will always have been worth it. As Edward Whymper said in his classic book Scrambles Amongst the Alps, where he described the first ascent of the Matterhorn: ‘The recollections of past pleasures cannot be effaced … there have been joys too great to be described in words …’

  He refers to the joys associated with climbing, but his philosophy applies to everything. You rarely achieve these joys by sitting back and taking the easy option.

  So with this in mind, we agreed to enter the arena again, and put ourselves through another ten months of potential humiliation and worry. The cameras are back and another series is underway …

  Acknowledgements

  While most of the writing of this book has been a solitary process, carried out in the early hours of the morning, the same cannot be said for the stories of which the book is made. Were it not for my workmates, clients and their animals, there would not be a book at all. So my first and biggest thank you must be to my colleagues at Skeldale Veterinary Centre, Thirsk, and in particular to Peter, Tim and, at the beginning, Jim. It has been a great privilege to work here alongside you, and it is a truly unique place to work. Thanks also to Jim for writing the foreword – and for underlining the very special links that still exist between your father and the modern practice in Thirsk today.

  Thank you to the clients of this practice, who have been, and continue to be, lovely, honest and genuine. It has been a great pleasure to treat all your pets and farm animals over the years. Special thanks to the Bell family, for their time and the loan of handsome calves, sheep and horses for photo shoots (the lovely South Devon calf on the front of this book is typical of their beautiful stock). Theirs is the first farm in the practice that I ever visited, although it was before I was a
vet. While walking the ‘Coast to Coast’ walk as a sixteen-year-old with a couple of schoolmates, I passed this farm and walked up their drive. Little did I know that, eight years later, I would become intimately involved with the health and welfare of the animals on this farm. Your friendship and, seemingly unswerving, faith in my clinical judgment have been ever present in my time working at Skeldale. Thank you.

  Also, were it not for the television series, The Yorkshire Vet, writing this book would have been a much more difficult proposition. I am very grateful to Paul Stead of Daisybeck Studios in Leeds, for approaching us in the spring of 2015 and for his faith in our ability to hold together not one but three series of programmes. Your encouragement, commitment and fervour have been brilliant. Moreover, the team of directors, producers and editors has been a joy to work with. When being filmed we are completely at your mercy and we are all extremely grateful for your sympathetic treatment! Producer directors Izzy Arrieta, David Terry and especially Laura Blair, I’ll never forget the funny, emotional and sometimes smelly moments we have enjoyed together. Series producer, Lou Cowmeadow, thank you for being so great and looking after us all. Also, enormous thanks to Natasha Jarvis, associate producer in series two, for your unflagging enthusiasm and also for your brilliant photos featured here on the front and back cover.

  Thanks go to the staff at Michael O’Mara Books, particularly my editor, Louise Dixon, and publicist, Clara Nelson for so positively engaging with this book; you have both been a great help and made this first effort such fun. Another person without whom there would be no book is my agent, David Riding, from MBA Literary Agents, who spotted the potential after the first episode of series one. Thank you for your vision!

  My heartfelt thanks must go to my family: my parents and sister for their perennial support, despite their increasing incredulity at my situation, but more particularly to Anne and our boys, Jack and Archie. Despite many hours away from home – on call, training and, more recently, writing, I have never heard a single complaint from any of you and I am so grateful – thank you.

  Finally, to Anne, thank you for putting up with my occasional grumpy tempers – and all my other faults – and also for expertly editing this text. Mine was the easy bit because the stories were in my head, but knocking them into readable sense was the hard bit. Without you, both this book and my life in general would be considerably less good!

  List of Illustrations

  1. Even as a young boy I loved being surrounded by animals. Here I am at my grandparents’ house with Judy, the Bedlington, and Paddy and Sue, the Jack Russells.

  2. On a family holiday in Wales I never missed a chance to be with animals, in this case a goat.

  3. While at vet school we had opportunities to visit other universities and this picture is at Leahurst, the equine unit of Liverpool’s vet school.

  4. My Gran and me on my graduation day at Pembroke. Gran was a true inspiration to me and spent much of her life with animals. We were very close during the early part of my life.

  5. This is my clinical group at vet school. We worked hard and played hard – from top left, Ben, me, Jenny, Cath and Claire.

  6. Soon after starting work at Skeldale, my colleague Tim and I removed this massive lump from the neck of a heifer. It was bigger than a football.

  7. A young Paddy and me relaxing on the sofa. He was just like a teddy bear!

  8. Between my first stint at Skeldale and working with Anne in the Cotswolds, I explored the Himalayas. Mount Everest is in the background.

  9. Dave Payne in the Swiss Alps, with the Matterhorn behind, where disaster would strike three weeks later.

  10. Anne and me on our wedding day, 21 October 2000. It was a great day in Hampshire.

  11. The Evil Salve, medicine for stupefying pigeons and other concoctions in the old cabinet upstairs at our practice in Thirsk.

  12. Feeling the weight of two growing boys. Jack took his tennis balls everywhere with him and Archie looks pensive.

  13. Anne, Jack and Archie on a summer day at Harlow Carr Gardens in Harrogate.

  14. Roger and me training for our attempt at the world record for 24-hour rowing as a tandem on the Concept 2 indoor rowing machine. The screen on the left shows our distance, a new world record and an impressive average split of 1.58.5 for each 500m.

  15. Another proud moment: representing Team GB, for my age group, in the European Middle-Distance Triathlon championships in Paguera, Mallorca, in 2014.

  16. With my friend and colleague Peter Wright in an early publicity photograph for The Yorkshire Vet TV series. (Daisybeck Studios/GroupM Entertainment/Channel 5)

  17. Examining a litter of pups is always a high point in our busy days. This is a very cute litter of Shih Tzu puppies. (Daisybeck Studios/GroupM Entertainment/Channel 5)

  18. Performing a caesarean on a heifer at two o’clock on a bitterly cold morning, as producer-director Laura Blair, dressed in many layers of clothes, films every detail from a safe vantage point. It never ceases to amaze me how well our farm-animal patients will tolerate what they are sometimes subjected to. The heifer made a full recovery.

  19. A moment to compare our animals. The Bell family are, quite rightly, proud of their beautiful stock, but surely my faithful Jack Russell terrier, Emmy, is the cutest?

  20. Paul and Jane Blanchard with their pygmy goat. This one had a skin condition caused by a mite infestation. She was pretty scabby and sore, but responded well to the treatment. David fastidiously captures it all. (Daisybeck Studios/GroupM Entertainment/Channel 5)

  21. Pregnancy testing a Whitebred Shorthorn cow. This is a standard part of our job and much of the time of a large animal vet is spent – literally – with his arm inside a cow’s backside.

  22. Examining the testicles of a stock bull forms part of a pre-breeding examination. When squatting behind a bull, close to his back legs and directly under his tail, the risks are obvious!

  23. Attempting to examine a pig – always a difficult task! Mangalitsa pigs are very unusual and covered in thick, woolly hair – and often have a mind of their own.

  24. Farmer Lisa loves her pigs! They are not always as friendly as this. Her partner, standing out of shot, has a large and clumsy bandage on his right hand where his tendons have been lacerated by the tusks of an uncooperative sow.

  25. Filming shots for the opening titles of The Yorkshire Vet above the White Horse of Kilburn. I persuaded the team we should meet at six a.m., the light was wonderful as the sun rose. (Daisybeck Studios/GroupM Entertainment/Channel 5)

  26. Visiting the Great Yorkshire Show with Peter. We rarely get the chance to have an afternoon out together, even less so to look at healthy animals in top condition in the show ring. Izzy never missed a chance to capture these moments on film.

  27. One of our more unusual patients – a chameleon: sitting here on the plastic model of a dog’s pelvis. (Daisybeck Studios/GroupM Entertainment/Channel 5)

  28. Another nighttime call. This poor dog had inhaled a barley head and was coughing up blood. The seed head was very difficult to remove as it was lodged at the bottom of his lungs. It was painstaking work with my endoscope. (Daisybeck Studios/GroupM Entertainment/Channel 5)

  29. A wonderful moment: I had just delivered this cria – a baby alpaca – after a very challenging ‘breech’ birth. I had to carefully unravel and unfold its (very long) legs to allow its safe delivery. Baby is sitting up already and mum looks relieved, if slightly bemused!

  1. Even as a young boy I loved being surrounded by animals. Here I am at my grandparents’ house with Judy, the Bedlington, and Paddy and Sue, the Jack Russells.

  2. On a family holiday in Wales I never missed a chance to be with animals, in this case a goat.

  3. While at vet school we had opportunities to visit other universities and this picture is at Leahurst, the equine unit of Liverpool’s vet school.

  4. My Gran and me on my graduation day at Pembroke. Gran was a true inspiration to me and spent much of her life with a
nimals. We were very close during the early part of my life.

  5. This is my clinical group at vet school. We worked hard and played hard – from top left, Ben, me, Jenny, Cath and Claire.

  6. Soon after starting work at Skeldale, my colleague Tim and I removed this massive lump from the neck of a heifer. It was bigger than a football.

  7. A young Paddy and me relaxing on the sofa. He was just like a teddy bear!

  8. Between my first stint at Skeldale and working with Anne in the Cotswolds, I explored the Himalayas. Mount Everest is in the background.

  9. Dave Payne in the Swiss Alps, with the Matterhorn behind, where disaster would strike three weeks later.

  10. Anne and me on our wedding day, 21 October 2000. It was a great day in Hampshire.

  11. The Evil Salve, medicine for stupefying pigeons and other concoctions in the old cabinet upstairs at our practice in Thirsk.

  12. Feeling the weight of two growing boys. Jack took his tennis balls everywhere with him and Archie looks pensive.

  13. Anne, Jack and Archie on a summer day at Harlow Carr Gardens in Harrogate.

  14. Roger and me training for our attempt at the world record for 24-hour rowing as a tandem on the Concept 2 indoor rowing machine. The screen on the left shows our distance, a new world record and an impressive average split of 1.58.5 for each 500m.

  15. Another proud moment: representing Team GB, for my age group, in the European Middle-Distance Triathlon championships in Paguera, Mallorca, in 2014.