Introduction

Abstract

Many years ago lived a boy who believed in any number of stories: ghosts lurked in the nearby churchyard, mums and dads looked after each other and stayed together forever, and it was, more or less, impossible to go to the USA unless you were very rich indeed. Other stories were more wrapped up in the world of professions and politics, a world seemingly light years from where the boy lived. In this world, anyone called a doctor was good and politicians were fine examples of people doing their best for others. His parents were considerably less sanguine about politicians but, to them, doctors were good guys, best exemplified by the US TV programme Dr Kildare. In fact, after Charlton Heston and Rock Hudson, Richard Chamberlain was the first actor’s name I knew.