Then came the embrace. They were still clung together when Tony waved the paper he held behind her back.
‘Have you read the Standard today?’
‘No, why should I have?’ asked Karen.
‘Here, read it and I’ll put the kettle on.’
Two weeks later Tony received a letter from the council of the Professional Association of Psychiatrists. It contained one long paragraph. It spoke of the risks in the profession to inappropriate liaisons which the profession would not tolerate but where there was a mutual and developing relationship with honest intentions, and the patient was no longer a client, the profession would not stand in the way of any medical practitioner. It was signed by the Society of Psychiatrists’ Chairman.
Karen was delighted to read the letter and Tony felt a silent burden lifted from his shoulders. It was up to him now to make the relationship develop with honest intentions.
Tony began attending church. At first it was to hear Karen play the organ but the more he attended, the more he was drawn into the life of the congregation. In time he joined the membership of St George’s Church, and six months later Dr Tony Scriven and Dr Karen Kane married in that church. At the reception at the Cassa Mia restaurant, Alan played electric guitar and Ivan the clarinet with Marty on drums. Karen took to the keyboard and Tony’s saxophone was on hand too. But not before Karen and Tony danced their first dance, You Are My Sunshine.
THE END
SPOT CHECKS
Bible or Koran
Both at times
Wafer or Chapatti
Chapatti
Prayer or Reflection
Reflection
Owl or Lark
Owl
Twitter or Newspaper
Newspaper
Wine or Water
Water (Teetotal)
Kneel or Sit
Sit
Bach or Wesley
Both
Old or New Testament
Old: The Psalms
New: Gospel of Luke
Tran substantial
Spiritual
or Spiritual
Trombone or Drum
Trombone
What disc to take on a
The Pearl Fisher’s Duet
Desert Island
The book at your bedside
Death is a Welcome
Guest by Louise Welsh
Tell us a secret
I have two international
sporting caps.
Can’t live without
a smile each day.
Interview with the Author
What inspired you to write this novella?
My father was a Church of Scotland minister and he worked all week except on a Monday morning when he played golf with a sports journalist. I heard of many clerics who had mental health issues. The common risk of ministers or priests is that they are not regular team members and are seen as individuals. This increases the need for them to mix and socialise out with their parish.
Do you think the novella will upset many who have faith?
No, I doubt it. It is a story, not a biography. The biography of my religious encounters appears at the front. It only shows I have had insights to many religious beliefs. Anyway, aren’t those with faith forgiving?
Is there a message in the story?
The message is that it is not only legal but surprisingly common for one individual to change from one denomination to another or to leave all to become either agnostic or atheist. It must be said that there is NO religion which denies any individual to change their religion. Anyone who disagrees does so from a biased view and cannot be authorised by any religious text.
Reading Group Questions
1What part does religion play in your life?
2If your religion or none was one you had to change, which religion would you chose to change to and why.
3Can you think of any other worker’s occupation which could suffer from mental health because of isolation?
4How difficult or professional is it for a doctor and patient relation to develop or a police officer and an accused perhaps? Think of prisoner Jimmy Boyle and his wife Dr Trevelyan, his psychiatrist.
5How does this novella compare with Miller’s other books?
Books by Miller Caldwell
The Novels
Operation Oboe
A Scottish widow of a Hamburg doctor becomes a Second World War spy in West Africa.
The Last Shepherd
An arrogant city banker clashes with the rural ways of the Last Shepherd.
Restless Waves
A writer in residence aboard a cruise ship faces daemons on board and on shore.
Miss Martha Douglas
A nurse and seamstress, Martha obtains a Royal position but becomes a suffragette and when released from prison serves in the trenches where she finds true love.
The Parrot’s Tale
The comic tale of an escaped parrot in the Scottish countryside sits alongside the tragedy of a missing girl. The search is underway for both but it is the parrot which comes up trumps.
The Crazy Psychologist
Set on Rousay in the Orkney Islands, the childhood difficulties of Dr Angie Lawrence come to light to explain her bizarre treatment programmes while her fragmented family come to terms with their past and her marriage is secured. To hear the BBC interview go to:
http://www.troubador.co.uk/news.asp?newsID=6514
The Reluctant Spy
This novel is soon to be a film and traditionally published book. Hilda becomes a double agent. Controlled by Gerhardt Eicke in Germany and Lawrence Thornton in Britain, how could Hilda cope under the strain and how did one handler confront her at the point of his death? The book is based on the life of the author’s relative.
A Lingering Crime
A novella about circumstantial evidence and how it can be used in courts for both the accused and victim. This novella is heading to be an episode in a crime series on TV and possibly on Netflix.
Biographies
Untied Laces
The author’s autobiography
Jim’s Retiring Collection
The illustrated cartoons and musings of a city and then rural Church of Scotland minister gathered and set in biblical context.
Poet’s Progeny
A line of decent of Robert Burns maintains his influence over succeeding generations.
7 point 7 on the Richter Scale
The diary of the Camp Manger in the NWFP of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan following the 2005 earthquake.
Take the Lead
The quirks of dogs experienced by the author over his life in Scotland, Pakistan and Ghana, together with canine poetry and recording medical advances in their training.
Children’s Books
Chaz the Friendly Crocodile
Chaz the Nigerian Crocodile visits a Scottish river to help people keep their towns tidy. Set in poetry, this is a book all parents require to train their growing children.
Lawrence the Lion Seeks Work
No more animals are in the circuses. So what happened when Lawrence the Lion went in search of a new job?
Danny the Spotless Dalmatian
All Dalmatian puppies have no spots at birth. They appear after three weeks. But Danny’s spots never appeared. Follow him as he searches for spots to make him a real Dalmatian.
Self Help
Have you seen my Ummm...Memory?
A valuable booklet for all whose memories are declining. Student memory tips as well as advice for those more senior moments to get through life.
Ponderings IN LARGE PRINT
Poems and short stories, as it says, in large print.
It’s Me Honest It Is
A short book commissioned by the School of Nursing to record the decades of the elderly and to offer them a page for their last requests. It is a valuable aid for family members as well as medical attendants.
Coming in 2018
The Reluctant Spy
Earmarked to be a feature film by film agent Mathilda Vuillermoz.
Love in Flanders Trenches
A suffragette leaves prison to serve in the trenches where she finds love.
The Trials of Sally Dunning and a Clerical Murder Page 27
