I've spent today with cliff and the shadows.


That's me on Peacehaven seafront. It's like the white cliffs of Dover for people on income support. The shadows were back in my consulting room at the Meridian Surgery. It gets about half an hour of sun a day, and is generally colder than Christmas in Lapland. I took my milk out of the fridge to keep it cool.

The last time I did a clinic there, I mentioned that there's not a lot to do in Peacehaven on the average weekday lunchtime, so finding myself stuck there again today, I decided to go further afield than the local shopping precinct, and head for the coast with my sandwiches. It turned out to be very nice. If a little hazardous...


The last time I was hit by flying chalk was in a maths lesson at school. That'll teach me to chat at the back of the class.

Anyhoo, between chalk and cheese sandwiches, I had a very pleasant lunchtime walk, and a good working day with twenty-five of the nicest patients you could ever wish to meet. It must be the sea air which brings out the best in people. Having stopped and read a tourist information sign on the clifftop, I also discovered why the Meridian Surgery is so called. Apparently it's because the Prime Meridian runs straight down from the Royal Observatory in Greenwich to the Co-op car park in Peacehaven, bisecting the surgery in two. I'm the only man ever to do retinal screening in two hemispheres at once.

But having finished my war on Peacehaven's retinopathy levels, I returned home to news of Amelie's close encounter with the health visitor. Apparently the woman was very impressed with Amelie's alertness and verbal skills (she's hyperactive and noisy), but it looks as though we're raising a monster. Not only is she in the top 8% by weight for girls of her age (I've already put her name down for fat camp) but she's also in the top 5% by height. So she'll make one heck of a netball player, but she might not be able to bend over to pick up the ball.