Mother-of-four SY took charge of the six women seated in silence around the long wooden table. She instructed me to wash my hands and help when necessary. If I doubted SY’s qualifications in midwifery, my own experience of childbirth was non-existent (unless you counted delivering puppies or kittens). SY also had a PhD thesis to write up. How did she have time to tend to these women as well? In the whole period that I was there (and not in the shops next door looking for a sandwich) the most action I experienced were a few moans from the Chinese lady. I wondered if anyone was pregnant at all.

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I lay on the back seat of the car, peeking out of the window occasionally to check the progress of the journey. This time I remembered just how long is the Isle of Skye. TPR drove quickly past the dangerous cliff face from which children were falling to their deaths. I blamed their teachers for letting them play there.