I have worked at Church Street Practice in Bradford on Avon for over 12 years. It’s a wonderful place to work and a privilege to be part of a team of such skilful and experienced colleagues (I include the Reception team in that description, naturally). I especially enjoy meeting whole families – caring for grandparents, parents, children, newborns and sometimes the family pets too! Some of my patients have been with me since the very start of my practice in Wiltshire, 20 years ago, and I love the depth of relationship that that long connection brings. Times change though and my husband and I are at an age where we think we might have one last adventure left in us. We still have energy and enthusiasm and, unusually for the middle-aged, no dependents in terms of either children or elderly parents.
My husband is an ecologist and Scotland is much further ahead on the environmental agenda than England. The government in Edinburgh presents opportunities for him to influence policy on the climate emergency and biodiversity loss, in addition to his existing consultancy and writing projects. We have both travelled the world but we haven’t explored the UK as much as we would like, so we are looking forward to seeing more of the Highlands and Islands, the cultural delights of Edinburgh and Glasgow and having easier access to Northumberland and the Lakes. For me, Edinburgh is an exciting, cosmopolitan city with numerous like-minded colleagues, where I hope to be able to establish myself relatively easily. I have an appropriate name for Scotland and in fact one of my ancestors founded the Edinburgh Medical School. It is daunting to be starting afresh and I will miss everyone terribly, but the Monro family motto is ‘alis et animo’, which means ‘wings and courage’. Please keep in touch! I will update the website with details of my Edinburgh practice when I have one!
Mary and ancestor Alexander Monro, who founded the Edinburgh Medical School