A Seaside Practice

Tales of a Scottish Country Doctor

By: Dr Tom Smith

Narrated by: Dr Tom Smith

Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's Summary

When he arrives to take up his first posting as a GP in Collintrae, a small fishing village on the West coast of Scotland, young Tom Smith isn't quite sure what to expect. Certainly, nothing in his medical training could have prepared him for what he finds - a baker with nine lives, Mad Maggie in the Muck, and a gaggle of giggling nuns are just a few of the extraordinary cases that he comes up against.

Heartwarming and gloriously eccentric, Dr Tom's stories capture the beauty of the Lowlands, the joys and sorrows of its inhabitants, and the richly rewarding experiences of life as a Scottish country doctor.

©2007 Tom Smith (P)2007 Soundings

Critic Reviews

"An affectionate and hugely entertaining memoir of the incident-packed five years that Smith spent looking after the mainly farming families in his patch. If only modern medicine had as much heart." ( Guardian)

Delightful - just too short

What a wonderful listen! I normally avoid books that are narrated by the author, but I enjoyed listening to Dr. Smith's inflecitons...and reading between the lines. My only regret is that it wasn't longer.

Wonderful writer and narrator!

By the end of the audio book I felt like could put faces to the characters. Highly recommend!

Absolutely Charming

I enjoyed this pleasant, nicely-paced, and well-read book. The author's stories of his experiences as a Scottish GP were interesting, funny, sad, but never boring. I listened to it while ironing and sorting and doing other homely tasks - it made the time pass pleasurably and my workload feel lighter.

Engaging Memoir

I saw this memoir and thought it was a good way to learn about medical practice in Scotland and get to know what life in rural Scotland was like. I got hooked on these types of memoirs back in the 1970s after reading all of the James Herriot’s books.

The story takes place in the 1960s in Collintrae, on the west coast of Scotland. Smith tells what it was like to be a young physician in a small rural town. His descriptions of the fascinating people that lived in the area are great. The book has humor, warmth as well as being interesting. It is a highly entertaining read.

The book is well written and appears to be taken from his diary. The audio version is the best way to read this memoir so you can fully enjoy the Scottish accent.

The book is seven hours long. Tom Smith read the book himself and he has a delightfully accent.

Wanted to like it--Interesting, but Vindictive

I'm a fan of the Irish Country Doctor series and the James Herriot series, too. Both are lovingly recounted tales of lives well lived and people (and animals) cared for and healed. I thought this series might be similar. There is certainly some of that in this book. It tells the story of a good doctor--a man of integrity--and his professional life in Scotland. The difference is that both Patrick Taylor and James Wright (authors of the Irish Country Doctor and James Herriot series) tell stories that convey patience, tolerance, and acceptance. We read of many instances where these men were ill treated or hard done by, but they leave it to the reader to tally the score. We grow to love them, and we know they took the high road, even when they didn't "win" the day. Dr. Smith, on the other hand, tallies it up for us. He starts with his mistreatment at the hands of his first professional partners and goes on from there to describe each unfair and un-deserved slight from childhood on through his professional career. There are some good stories along the way, but this book is missing the strength, warmth, and sense of honor of the Irish Country Doctor series. It left me with a bad taste in my mouth and a sad sense that this man feels he deserved better than he got from his professional life.

Enjoyable

I truly enjoyed this light, heartwarming tale. I have always felt drawn to things and stories from Ireland and Scotland (my heritage). This was a relaxing and uplifting tale that I would recommend to my friends.

Loved this book

This was my first audiobook listen and I loved every minute of it. Reader & author was very entertaining.

Very slow going

Good story but it is a very slow moving book. Although the author is telling his own story he doesn't do it justice. Some one else could have brought it to life

From another doctor

The stories ring true from my rural experience. Well illustrates the dictum from Sir William Osler: it's more important to know which patient has the disease than what disease the patient has
Michael Klein MD
ROBERTS Creek BC Canada

Good background

The stories were interesting and entertaining. Doesn't have the heart that Herriot's stories have, but it is still worth the time. The reader's accent was a bit distracting, and I was frustrated with the Gaelic pronunciations without seeing the word, but that's my stuff.

Memories of Times Gone By

Dr Smith's narrative of his beginnings as a junior doctor to becoming the Family Doctor take us back in time when that role was so important for his patients whether the doctor was in the country or suburbia. Back in a time when life was less complicated, less demanding and more intertwined with people.
He restores my memories to when as a child, the lookout patrol announced loudly for the whole neighbourhood to know "the doctor's here"; the lookout in place because he had been called to attend to a sick child or children. The arrival of the Family Doctor had a sense of security that all would be well. Even if he should call by for a social visit. The doctor knew everything - along with the Chemist!
Dr Smith's wonderful Scottish lilt and humour takes us on his journey with his supportive wife and children. Once settled back in his native land, he reveals many good stories of family doctor and patient and locals.
Thank goodness for wonderful story tellers like Dr Smith who can revive such wonderful memories!

A tale of GPs before the hurry of today

What I enjoyed was the author reading the book, it has the best intonation etc. A good story filling in the parts about what we patients look like to GPs!

A Book For Country Folk

Would you listen to A Seaside Practice again? Why?

I would definitely listen to this book again. It brought back memories of my childhood, in that I could associate with the kind of characters Tom wrote about and could even imagine how my childhood GPs could have easily found themselves in similar circumstances.

Have you listened to any of Tom Smith’s other performances? How does this one compare?

This is the first Tom Smith book I have listened to but it will not be the last, I always think there is something special about listening to a reading by the author.

a good listen

loved this book. it took me back to wgen I started nursing in 1966 in the United Birmingham Hospitals. its a story of a truely family doctor, the same as I grew up with and sadly miss now. when the Goverment of the day want Super Gp practices of 50,000 patients.
thanks to the doc for all his hard work over the years. and for writing his story.

Riveting

This was thoroughly enjoyable. Every chapter introduced us to new characters and interesting stories. A human James Herriot. The author was an excellent narrator of his work. Injecting just the right amount of humour and pathos. Looking forward to the next one.

A gentle read

It’s not fast paced or sexy but a good comfortable listen beautifully read by the author I enjoyed this book very much Just about to download the next volume

down memory lane

Lovely gentle listen especially like me you worked in the NHS around this time thanks

Great for those with an interest in medicine.

Really enjoyed listening to the tales of he GP and looking forward to listening to the sequel. I have an interest in medical history and found each tale about the different patients both amusing and fascinating. The writer has narrated the book and his wonderful Scottish accent helps to set the scene, though his voice was sometime monotonous.

Overall, an enjoyable book.

1960's Scotland

A jolly little tale of highland life and made better by the medical content. The reader was not professional and lacked storytelling inflections that would have made the whole thing better.

Disengaged

This book could have been so much more:- more amusing; more engaging; more interesting.

If you have read, and enjoyed, the series by James Herriott about his adventures as a vet, or Patrick Taylor's amusing tales of a young, Irish doctor going into country general practice, then, like myself, you may have picked up this book hoping it would be more of the the same, or at least similar. Alas, you may find yourself disappointed with "A Seaside Practice" in this regard. "A Seaside Practice" is more auto-biographical looking at his Scottish country practice in the 1960s - prior to NHS efficiency drives - than engaging revelations, but, as Dr Smith himself admits, he does not befriend his patients, and the result seems to be all connection is lost: between the doctor and his patient, and the doctor and his listener/reader. So, this book feelks more like a tome about cases the good doctor himself thought would make amusing anecdotes for general readers, but it truly missed the mark for this listener.

I'm afraid, too, I had issues with Dr Smith's reading of his own book. It was a little flat, he faltered, all to frequently, on words, and I could hear pages being turned and mistakes being made, though the overall sound quality was good, being even in volume and pacing. Perhaps I might have enjoyed the book more if someone else had narrated it, but it certainly needed an editor who knows how to elicit an engaging style from their writer.