Dr Bill

You mean like this? ...a little dry brown corrugated old woman, with a small face that might have been made of walnut shells, and a large mouth like a cat's without the whiskers,.. Superb isn't it

I gave up on "The Edwardians" by Roy Hattersley yesterday. I frankly found it boring. Started to read "Great Expectations" instead. Today I have started "The Stripping of the Altars" by Eamon Duffy. It promises to be a long read. It's a big book and I really need quiet to read a book of this sort - a luxury that seems to be in short supply!

Rugby Union 6 Nations - one of the sporting highlights of the year for me.

Must give him a try sometime - sounds like my cup of tea

I generally have something on the go at night (often but not always on the Kindle) and somethig a bit weightier (metaphorically and physicaly) during the day (when I get chance to read during the day!) Mind you, I'm a bit of a sucker for magazines so I often have a couple of those going as well - read BBC history magazine in bed this morning for example, and I have "Trout Fisherman" by my side as I type and "Gardeners' World" is kicking around somewhere.

I think one needs to set things into context, especially if it is history or biography. The background is important for the book to make sense and this is often set out in a (sometimes very long) introduction

I like to use a proper bookmark and have several, but I usually find I haven't one to hand when I need it! My current read (Charles Dickens - a life) has a marker ribbon attached so the problem doesn't arise. I often simply use the dust jacket flap where there is one.

I don't read a lot of fiction but I much prefer to read a series in chronological order even if they can be enjoyed as "stand alone" books. I don't feel I have to buy them all at once though. Like others I like a change so rarely if ever have I read a whole series ne after the other. Funnily enough I lke to read an authors output in order of witin, even when they don't form a series as such. Not always feasible though.

Finished "The Cecils" by David Loades. I've had this book for about a year and started it two or three times but finally managed to finish it this time. Fascinating subjects but not the most readable book in the world. Trying to start "Charles Dickens - a life" by Claire Tomalin

It's really interesting that so many posters have discovered Agatha Christie over the last few weeks. I read "Ten Popes who Shook the World". Now started Barnaby Rudge by Dickens and "Wonders of the Universe" by Brian Cox.

This was transmitted a couple of weeks ago and I thought excellent. Prequels are often disappointing but this was very good.If it is a one-off then that is a great pity because their is great potential for a series. And Barrington Pheloung's music was brilliant as ever

Three. Only read Jane Eyre mind you.

It had its compensations I miss the contact with (some) patients. When you have looked after them and their families for 30 years it is inevitable that a ccertain fondness grows. Mind you, there were plenty that I was glad to see the back of - the unreasonably demanding, the rude and abusive. They were few in number but made a big impact on life. I also miss (some of) my working colleagues and the staff we worked with. I miss the science. I miss the learning. But do I miss the job itself? Do I miss working at night? Do I miss seeing 40-50 patients a day and trying to give them all a good service? Do I miss spending hours working through piles of paperwork? Do I miss getting home in the evening too tired to play with my children? Do I miss ther disruption of family life? Do I miss the constant threat of litigation and complaint if I didn't give way to every unreasonable demand? What do you think?

No, certainly not This used to be the case, but it is now much more restricted. Promotional items are all low cost and expensive meals are much less common if they happen at all. That's not quite what I meant. If people move well out of a practice's general area then they are expected to change to a GP nearerr their home. There is no regulation that says they must as far a I know, but it is not really practcal to haver patients miles from the surgery. What I really meant was that patients do not tend to chop and change from one practice to another unless there is some major disagreement. Of course we now have "drop in" centres where people can see a health care professional. Trouble is the professional doesn't know the patient and vice versa. I appreciate it might be convenient for minor ailments but anything complex would create difficulties

Pardon me for butting in. There is no regulation (or wasn't when I was in practice anyway). Anyone can register with any doctor who is prepared to accept them (and it is difficult for a doctor to refuse). The limitations are purely geographical really. By and large people seem very reluctant to change GP's. Families tend to stay with the same practice generation after generation unless they move from the area. And that is usually a good thing - we get to know the families and there little ways over the years. I always thought of myself as a Family Doctor, rather than a "primary care physician" which is the title certain po-faced academics would have us adopt.