One of my old timers came in today; a patient who has been on my list since the 80s. There are perhaps a thousand or so of these tried and trusted friends. She told me she was sitting in her local recently (geographically it is the nearest pub to my surgery), when someone came in and announced:
"Have you hard the news? Pelagius is retiring!" At this, a frisson spread round the bar, with one person after another saying words to the effect of:
"Christ! What are we going to do now?"
I hastened to inform her that I while I was retiring, I would be continuing to work one whole day a week, so that anyone suitably attached to me would still be able to secure an appointment, though they might have to book well in advance. As at least half of my appointment slots are indeed "book-ahead", it shouldn't be too hard. I asked her to disseminate this information as far as possible, which she agreed to do. I am now targeting other patients with a lot of connections to do the same. I don't want my best friends abandoning me en masse because they think I've been banished into the outer darkness. Her story from the pub is obviously a huge compliment, though.
For myself I am beginning to feel increasingly anxious about the whole thing. It's like someone with second thoughts who has committed himself to marriage and with the wedding only days away, feels it's too late to do anything about it now. I AM committed, and it IS too late to reverse it now.
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