As charming as he is entertaining, Dr Robert Clifford dispenses a delightful dose of hilarious anecdotes, colourful portraits of patients, family and friends, tempered with heartwarming tales of human courage and tragedy.

There's the eccentric hermit Hamish Richardson; the stubborn Romany Zackovitch Hebden; Miss Peabody, the elderly spinster ever hopeful of a pools win; and William Jessop, the blind man whose handicap obviously isn't a handicap! As well as stories from his Tadchester surgery, Dr Robert Clifford tells of his son's accident on Sark and there are more fishy tales with water bailiff John Denton and a sparkling of delightful descriptions of holidays at home and abroad.

Doctor, family man, humourist, philosopher and counsellor, Dr Robert Clifford's stories are a tonic for us all.