Blog 75 Journeys in Opposite Directions
July 30, 2022In recent years I’ve started to rise early and go for a run before going to work. The exercise does me good and after a long soak in the shower, I feel invigorated and ready to face whatever challenges await me when I arrive at the surgery. Recently though I’ve moderated my physical activity as […] Read more
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Blog 74 Takes of courting in a by-gone world
July 13, 2022In modern times it seems to me that when a young man asks a girl for a date, he expects her to be stork-proof and willing to stay for breakfast. But before the pill, free love and flower power, things were very different. Courting was a sedate affair; relationships progressing far more slowly than is […] Read more
Blog 73 My job interview goes catastrophically badly
May 20, 2022Working as a trainee in the Accident and Emergency Medical Department, I treated 3 young lads whose wrists had been broken as they stood with their hands on the barrier whilst watching a football match. Their wrists had been overextended as the crowd behind them surged down the terraces when a goal had been scored. […] Read more
Blog 72 I think I may have swallowed some gas, Doctor
May 1, 2022A few years ago, I was on the front line in our Accident and Emergency Department when a kid of about 17 attended. He looked anxious but also had a shifty look on his face. He said he had been ‘out on the town’ and might have swallowed some gas. He was cagey about the circumstances but I […] Read more
Blog 71 My First Academic Paper and Presentation
April 16, 2022Working in the casualty department on the day that City played United at Old Trafford, I treated 3 young lads who had been injured whilst on the terraces watching the match. Their wrists had been over stretched and broken when there had been a surge down the terraces during an exciting moment during a match. […] Read more
Blog 70 A medical Misunderstanding
April 1, 2022Maisie and Michael Simpson were ten year old twins. Both were good looking kids but there the similarity ended. Michael was bright, always near the top of the class, getting good reports at school. He was also a promising athlete and sportsman. He played for the school teams at football and cricket and as a result […] Read more
Blog 69 The Dietitian’s Tale
March 5, 2022My patient came through the door, waddled into the room, then slowly, and with a sigh, eased himself into the chair. It groaned under his weight and I feared for its safety. One look at him told me he was obese, but the protocol insisted that I had to calculate his Body Mass Index, and […] Read more
Blog 68 An unfortunate Anglo-German misunderstanding
February 4, 2022Hans Schmidt had lived all his life in the village of Tutzing, on the shores of Lake Starnberg, in Southern Germany. At the age of 21, he had married his childhood sweetheart, Gerda, and opened a small bakery, supplying bread and cakes to the local community. When his working days were over, the couple had […] Read more
Blog 67 Supporting the Samaritans
January 15, 2022Terry had been a supporter of the Samaritans for many years and the charity’s fundraising golf day was, for him, a ‘never to be missed’ occasion. This year he had asked his old school friend Joe to accompany him, and they had enjoyed a pleasant game of golf at a prestigious golf course some forty […] Read more
Blog 66 Carving the Christmas turkey
December 15, 2021Every Christmas Day morning when I was a child, I visited either Stockport Infirmary or Stepping Hill Hospital. This was in the 1950s when we lived in Davenport, approximately half way between the two hospitals. My father was Rupert Sykes who was one of the two physicians that served the hospitals at that time. Today, […] Read more
