John Maile

Preregistration; Casualty/Orthopaedics, then General Medicine, at RSCH Brighton.My room was one of 3, conveniently placed between two wards, but with a view down the road , past the pub , to the sea.
Next, I had one of two obstetric H S posts at Brighton General, with Geoffrey Chamberlain as the registrar.One could not have dreamed of a better mentor. An orthopaedic S H O job for over a year followed.
Susan and I married in February 1964, before sailing to Montreal, whence we drove across Canada to Vancouver. I did a one year anasthesia residency, before taking a post in underdoctored Quesnel, B C.
At that time the community had two surgeons, a urologist, internist, radiologist, & six G Ps.We did everything, except chest and neurosurgery.We are located in the centre of the province, 75 miles from the next community north or south, with logging, mining & ranching, and a continental climate.
There was one ambulance for the population of 25000, operated by the local taxi service, so it was not uncommon to be called along.
Our three sons arrived between 1966 and 1974, and now work as engineers and a chef, with 7 grandchildren to date.
With snow from December to March, the family took up skiing, and I served with the Canadian Ski Patrol for 29 years. Summers can be very pleasant and we have travelled B C and beyond, marvelling at the scenery and wildlife. At home, deer, bears and the occasional cougar have been known to show up in the garden.
My dinghy racing career was put on hold till 1980,when I took a course for cruising yachts.We sailed the west coast in our 35 foot boat,as a prelude to three charters in the southern Caribbean, two in the Greek Islands,also Croatia, Majorca, Brittany, and Normandy.
I retired from office practice in 2005, did some locums, and now assist at surgery two or three days a week, as well as one week a month on call for Caesareans, having done over 1000 in my career.