Feature

Blantyre, Malawi The boy was milliseconds from HIV, the bloodstained razor blade held viciously against his ear. The deformed black woman, clad in tattered brown dress, smiled as she pulled his head towards her. I leapt forward. “Don’t!” I shouted helplessly, aware that in deepest Malawi we were on our own. For a moment she hesitated, then the hand came down, blade nestling gently in her palm. She smiled again. “Just a demonstration,” she whispered hoarsely. “You wanted to know what I did. If I cut him, the witches will stay away.”[...]

Alexandria, Egypt How dull it would be if all nations were the same, as if it were expected that we should each behave in an identical way. Yet my experience of Egypt, which is where I am sat right now, has begun to make me wish that on occasions peoples might clone. Now and again it would just be good for folk to be predictable, equally so. There is nothing predictable about arriving in Egypt. It seemed simple at the time. Could I give a series of talks in Alexandria? I scanned[...]

Durban, South Africa So it’s official. I am a wimp. At least I try to pretend I am not, but I am. It’s Africa, you see, South Africa in particular. It seemed such a good idea at the time. A couple of days off after a conference, a long way home, so why not stop by a tourist sight and soak up a holiday atmosphere for a short while? But then I chose the wrong time, with Durban being in chaos, crowds lining the streets, demonstrations everywhere, and even a couple of[...]

Tripoli, Lebanon I feel sad today, although perhaps sad is the wrong word. Unsettled might be better. You see, one of the surgeons is leaving us, and it is so terribly clear that he is as respected as they come. It has also made me think of how those in mainstream medicine have definitely got it wrong. It has taken me a while to get there but…oh well…here goes. For reasons that are not immediately clear, folk become famous in world medicine by being noisy, by writing lots of scientific papers, by[...]

Orcines, France Head waiter or no head waiter, self-service breakfasts now appear the rule wherever I stay. It is rare to have anyone take an order at the beginning of the day. Apart from the French, who invariably ask if I would like tea, coffee or chocolate the moment I arrive in the breakfast room, reluctantly deliver my chosen drink and then ignore me until the following morning. For them, our truly next door neighbours, and with whom we have argued for generations, I have to be on my best behaviour. I[...]

London, United Kingdom If there was any time of my day when my brain is at its best, it is in the early morning. I am one of those antisocial creatures who jumps out of bed at a ludicrous 4.30 a.m., in keeping, I would guess, with farmers, postmen and the old-fashioned milkie, and I can keep busying like a bee until mid-day. Then, without suitable rest and sustenance, my inner systems begin to flag. By 2 p.m. you can forget me. However, what this odd physiology has created is me being[...]