Profile

"Having underwent a Damascene conversion from classics to medicine, I graduated (in Edinburgh) in 1964 and worked as a GP for twenty-five happy years in the Scottish Borders – a beautiful area with more sheep than people! I retired early owing to – luckily reversible - ill health, but as I felt too young to put my feet up, I re-matriculated in my old university (without any difficulty, despite a change of faculties), where I gained an MA in English Language, Gaelic and Russian. I had discovered that I had (and visited twice) Russian relatives in Moscow and St Petersberg - hence the Russian, a beautiful but difficult language.

This was followed by an MSc in a study and analysis of non-standard dialect words, still in use in Scottish Border dialects, denoting a range of wild bird species. This joyful episode spurred me to continue studying various subjects at university in the Department of Lifelong Learning (now there’s a pompous title for you!) – just for the fun of it and with no obligation to write essays or take exams – I’d had enough of that by this stage!

These subjects have included creative writing, initially prose and finally poetry. This is my home port – where I am delighted to have come to rest."

You can contact Chris via email at chrishaylescameron@googlemail.com, by phone on 01573 224218, or by post to Kingledores, 9 Kingscroft, Kelso, Roxburghshire, TD5 7NU.