January 2014 – And so into 2014! I trust the New Year’s resolutions are intact and any excesses of the festive season have been offset by the increased metabolic rate associated with good intentions. At the time of writing of course we have only just taken down the Halloween decorations and returned the Presidential Residence to its native state. Chris Moulton, our new Vice-President, and I were walking near the College on the evening of October 31st and were amused at the range of costumes on show. It was not entirely clear whether some were in fancy dress or simply accustomed to wearing more avant-garde garments: the pirates were certainly incongruous.

December 2013 – And so we find ourselves at the close of 2013. By now the Christmas season will be in full swing and no doubt many of you will be looking forward to spending an evening in the good company of colleagues whilst savouring the variable ‘feasts’ of a local carvery.

November 2013 –
And so the winter has started and with it the inevitable increase in hospital occupancy rates, ED exit block, ambulance handover delays and the daily struggle to find sufficient staff to maintain even minimum levels of care. As I am writing this in mid-September you will see I am blessed with the gift of prophecy – though my talents are strangely mute in respect of anything that William Hill will give me odds on!

August 2013 – ‘Time and tide waits for no man’ and so although my first newsletter as President has yet to be published I am tasked with putting pen to paper again, to ensure early receipt at the printers to accompany the Conference supplement. As I write, I am sat a short distance from my boat (dinghy) on the Riviera (Devon). I trust you too have had the opportunity for some rest and relaxation this summer.

July 2013 – As Monty Python noted in the ‘Spanish Inquisition’ sketch, ‘No one expects the unexpected’! And so I find myself President of the College! In the regular slot afforded to the president in this supplement, now as author rather than reader, it is with some apprehension that I follow my predecessors in their role as ‘leader writer’