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Private Notes
The year is 1928 and the place Glasgow. Alan Finlay, a hard-up young medical student with a passionate ambition to become a surgeon, becomes involved in the strange disappearance of his landlady's husband. Finlay ventures an opinion and by chance finds himself in conflict with the veteran Dr. Cameron, a former surgeon now in general practice. It is a chance that is to shape Finlay's career.
An outbreak of scarlet fever leads Alan Finlay to investigate a local dairy, where he encounters the owner's wife.
Dr. Lestrange is a quack doctor - a striking character with flowing cape and hair. His methods upset Dr. Finlay but charm his Glasgow patients.
Dr. Finlay meets Miss Malcolm, the local schoolmistress, at the Village Ball.
A self-made financier who would cheat his own doctor - a wife with heart trouble who decides to have a baby - two doctors wanting to marry the same girl. All problems for Dr. Finlay.
Janet is keeping a strict eye on the domestic affairs of Dr. Cameron.
A fall of coal at the local pit traps Tannochbrae's star footballer and brings with it problems for Alan Finlay. Dr. Cameron has his own troubles when Willie Craig, the local insurance agent, comes to visit Janet.
Dr. Cameron is worried about his gardener, Alex Dean, and he has good cause to be. But it is Dr. Finlay who has to cope with the problem of trying to help Dean and in doing so comes into conflict with another of Tannochbrae's medical men, Dr. Snoddie.
Meg McBain, the stock-breeder's wife, gives birth to a son. But who is the father? Is it McBain, or could it be the carefree Irish tinker Tim O'Shea?
The 'dirty Fergusons' live like pigs and seem happy to do so. But by doing so they offend against Alan Finlay's strict sense of sanitary propriety. On the other hand Mrs. Elgin and her aged sister live in an atmosphere of pathological cleanliness, and they become Dr. Cameron's reluctant concern.
Dr. Cameron is concerned at the sudden increase in the number of women coming to the surgery with serious diseases. Soon he begins to wonder if a newcomer to Tannochbrae could have anything to do with it. With the aid of Janet and Dr. Finlay he sets out to investigate.
Young Elsie comes out in spots, and for Alan Finlay the root cause is quite clear. It must be the unsatisfactory emotional atmosphere in Elsie's family. Dr. Cameron disagrees, insisting it is something she ate. But whatever their cause these little red marks look like putting a severe strain on the partnership.
To the grocers of Tannochbrae George Harris is simply a commercial traveller who sells biscuits. But to Debbie Wilson he is an unpleasant reminder of the past. When she tries to commit suicide Dr. Cameron, with the help of Janet, tries to unravel the mystery surrounding Harris.
It's Hogmanay in Tannochbrae. The two doctors at Arden House are busy and have also taken over Dr. Snoddie's practice while the latter is away visiting his sister. Dr. Finlay is called in by Robert Ferguson, one of Snoddie's wealthiest patients, who has been taken ill at his family's annual New Year gathering.
Braeside is Tannochbrae's most select residential hotel for elderly gentlefolk. The unexpected arrival of Colonel Cayley, former Indian administrator, threatens to upset the whole delicate social balance of the hotel.
When Denny Drummond loses his eyesight in a rock-blasting accident it appears that the local quarry company is to blame. His mother and father start legal proceedings to claim damages. Then Dr. Finlay discovers something that could alter the outcome of the case... if he tells the whole truth.
Dr. Cameron is called out urgently to find his patient, Roderick McDougall, unconscious on the floor. He is baffled as to the cause. One curious aspect of the case is that McDougall seems to fall ill only on Tuesdays. Eventually Cameron thinks he has solved the puzzle, but as he proceeds with the case he finds himself in conflict not only with Dr. Snoddie, but with his partner Dr. Finlay as well.
Tannochbrae's librarian, Thomas Fordyce, has problems of a very personal nature, complicated by an assistant at the library who tipples and a wife who is a member of the Standfast Brethren.
Urged on by Dr. Cameron, Dr. Finlay joins the golf club and meets a club member whose chronic hypochondria is matched only by his anxiety for free medical advice.
Local tenant farmer Graham Mackenzie, once considered to be an intelligent and pleasant man, has now taken to drink, to the obvious distress of his wife Nan.
Ben Hogan, out of work for a very long time, is offered a job as a sparring partner in a fairground boxing booth - much to Alan Finlay's disapproval, for the doctor has strong views about this sport.
When a baby is abandoned outside Arden House it provokes typically different reactions in the household. For Janet the poor wee mite is an unexpected guest; for Dr. Cameron it is something of a nuisance and for Dr. Finlay it is a problem demanding a solution.
As it is elsewhere in Scotland in the 1920's, the war between the 'wets' and the 'drys' is a hard-fought affair. The local leader of the 'wets' is Dougie Mumford, a tough veteran of the Black Watch: the 'drys' are led by doughty little widow Annie Feenan. When she comes into the local pub selling 'War Cry' the insults begin to fly.
Doctors Finlay and Cameron are not burying their heads in the sand when it comes to new techniques, but they reserve their enthusiasm over the success of a certain Dr. Stephens. They have good reasons to make them sceptical and suspicious.
A suspected case of salmonella leads Dr. Snoddie, as local Medical Officer of Health, to seal up a well used by a number of local residents. Dr. Finlay protests at the delay in clearing and reopening the well. But when distinguished specialist Sir James Greig visits Arden House for dinner and is struck down by a severe attack of food poisoning the search for the answer to the problem is widened considerably.
Dr. Finlay is sorely troubled by a situation that runs out of control. Two boys inquisitively exploring his car, the disappearance of an opthalmoscope - and Finlay finds himself powerless to stop an apparently cruel legal process.
Alan Findlay runs into trouble when he is asked by the Ministry of Health to organise a free milk experiment at the local school.
Roddy Munro is the envy of every lad in Tannochbrae. After giving up his clerical job it is the day of his first match as a professional footballer and the Tannochbrae United Supporters' Club are away in force to Kinleven to cheer him on. An added incentive for Roddy is the news that several of the bigger English clubs are sending scouts to watch him. There is just one snag - and it is Dr. Finlay, himself a keen supporter of the local team, who spots it and becomes involved in a most unprofessional piece of work.
On a fishing expedition Dr. Finlay makes an unusual 'catch' when he attends to a stranger hurt in a fall. His patient is Anthony Hay, a well-known London actor staying in Tannochbrae to rest, so he says. But there is something about him that arouses Finlay's suspicions. And why is Hay's wife so anxious to keep him away from doctors?
When Finlay delivers a baby at the Cottage Hospital the result is entirely unexpected and he finds himself up against two dilemmas in quick succession. How can he aid a mother who refuses to be aided, and has he or has he not a case of murder on his hands?
When Alan Finlay is persuaded to act as midwife to a prize cow his act of kindness to a dumb animal provokes the wrath of local vet Lewis Gilbride. In no time at all there is a state of war between Gilbride and Arden House and it takes a spot of quiet detective work by Dr. Cameron to restore peace.
Problems in one of the two local bakehouses have Drs. Finlay and Cameron taking a strictly professional interest in a batch of twelve twopenny mutton pies which have caused a good deal of trouble in Tannochbrae.
The meanest man in Tannochbrae is Mr. Cogger. When Dr. Finlay is called out to visit Cogger's housekeeper he finds that her trouble is an ailment of the pay-packet. He gives her cheeseparing employer a simple piece of advice.
Alan Finlay has been attending a course in medical hypnotism. Though Dr. Cameron refuses to let him try out his new knowledge on his asthma, but Finlay soon gets the chance when treating Hilda, daughter of the local pawnbroker Henry Brown. But he comes across much deeper problems than he expected.
All seem set for Henry MacAlpine to be elected Treasurer of the Burgh Council, just one step away from almost certain appointment as the next Provost. But he is involved in a car crash in unusual circumstances - a situation which presents Dr. Finlay with one of the most difficult decisions of his life.
Old Mr. Lennox, a retired university lecturer, has been smitten with an incurable and painful disease. He hints to Dr. Cameron that he would welcome an 'accident, but naturally Cameron has to remain deaf to any such suggestion. However, Lennox has a housekeeper, Maggie Rankin, who is deeply devoted to him. Overworked and under intense emotional strain she has to watch him suffer needless agony.
A new minister, the Rev. Craig, arrives in Tannochbrae. A keen angler, he and Dr. Finlay appear to have a lot in common at first. But in dealing with the problems of bedridden widower Tom Farquhar and his daughter Betty their temperaments and views of life come into opposition.
Lucy Burns, a new young teacher at the local school, is giving the dominie Mr. Miller an uneasy time. Matters come to a head when she tries to have a family of tinkers enrolled at the school. But Miller is not the only one worried over Miss Burns. Young Dr. Finlay has his concerns as well.
Dr. Finlay discovers that a sixteen year old girl has had an illegal operation, but she won't name the person who carried it out. Her father encourages her silence as he fears the shame that the disclosure will bring to his family. Meanwhile Dr. Cameron has to cope with Mrs. Yeldham, pregnant and already with a large family - and a husband who has just been sacked from his job at the local quarry.
An outbreak of measles means extra work for Dr. Finlay, and Dr. Snoddie adds to the burden by demanding that the relevant paperwork is brought up to date immediately. Then Dr. Cameron takes to his bed with what he thinks is measles and Finlay diagnoses as a heavy cold. To make matters worse Finlay is called out urgently to Ian Grant, the greengrocer's son. Not knowing young Grant has deserted from a Military Hospital because the surgeon is going to amputate his leg, Finlay rushes him to the local hospital and calls in a specialist.
Doctors Finlay and Cameron are faced with the annual problem of sorting out their financial affairs. Cameron is far too easy-going about making his patients pay promptly: Finlay believes in trying to run things on a businesslike basis. But the real bogey man is the local Income Tax Inspector!
Alan Finlay and local vet Lewis Gilbride team up when a local farmer shoots an Alsatian dog which has all the symptoms of the dreaded disease rabies. There is more concern when it appears that one of Finlay's patients has been bitten by a dog. Is there a connection?
An upper-crust English girl falls for Dr. Finlay.
Lord Moorcroft is trying to persuade the Council to put up a memorial to the fallen of the 1914-18 war. But there is a section of the community who feel that the money would be better spent on such necessities as street lamps than on what the local schoolmaster calls 'vast marble eyesores'.
Kevin McDonald is Tannochbrae's shot-putting hope for the Highland Games. He is big, handsome and good-natured, but something brings about a change in his temperament. Finlay's efforts to help him only earn him a black eye. The partners at Arden House each have their own theory but neither can convince the other that he is right. It takes a near tragedy to provide the truth.
Robert Finlay visits his son Alan at Tannochbrae for the first time. Left to his own devices for much of the time he forms an association with Mrs. Hamilton. Mr. Finlay thinks her a kind and generous person: the Doctor thinks exactly the opposite.
Alan Finlay is a poor sailor. So when he is called out to visit old Strachan, the lighthouse keeper, who has spiked his finger, he dreads the trip. But Strachan is far worse than anticipated and Finlay must be both doctor and nurse - cooped up with Strachan and two other keepers in a spot cut off by gales from the outside world. Dr. Cameron is equally displeased as he has to cope with both his own and his partner's work while the latter is stormbound.
Angus Hendry, like many others in Tannochbrae, has been out of work for three years. The partners at Arden House each have their own theory on the best way to help him. What begins as an academic argument soon becomes a practical test of who is right.
Jamie looks to young Willie Kemp to help him over his bout of crematorium melancholia.
Dr. Finlay dreams of a free National Health Service, but Dr. Cameron is sceptical and fears the extra workload free health care might bring. But as usual the older man's attitude is not as rigid as it seems, and when a top consultant is summoned to Tannochbrae to see a rich hypochondriac Cameron is not above instituting his own 'Medical Service'.
The depression of the late 1920's was a time of sacrifice. Sacrifice for food, for principle and for solidarity.
Peter MacNab is a medical student of great promise who for one reason or another seems to have lost all confidence in himself. But this changes when Dr. Cameron asks him to examine an ailing Dr. Finlay.
There are times when a private patient is more trouble than he's worth. Not many would dispute a doctor's moral right to be paid for services rendered, but how far should Finlay press this right in a case of a man whose wife has received urgent medical attention and does not feel inclined to settle the account?
When Willie Campbell returns after supposedly serving in the Army in India he finds that his wife Jeannie has given birth to a child. Naturally there is a domestic explosion and Dr. Finlay becomes very concerned about the effect on the baby's health.
Hugh Armitage decides to stay at Lochend Guest House for a nice long holiday because of its reputation as ""one of the healthiest spots west of Dumfries"". But when he finds himself in the midst of an outbreak of food poisoning his opinion of Tannochbrae changes completely.
John MacEwan, one time concert singer and now professional loafer, comes into conflict with Aldo Narduzzi, an amateur opera singer. Caught up in the quarrel is young Tommy MacEwan, whose stubborn case of acne is causing Dr. Finlay a certain amount of concern.
Annie Laurie sets the tongues of Tannochbrae wagging when she takes in Willie Gillespie as a lodger.
Dr. Cameron and Dr. Finlay successfully deliver Kate Sinclair's first child. Later Finlay warns Kate and her husband that it would almost certainly be fatal for Kate to have another child. The resulting marital problem is a particularly acute one.
School doctor Fay Beresford targets the primitive toilet facilities at the local school, which she insists must be replaced by modern plumbing. It is a task at which both the Arden House doctors and Dr. Snoddie have failed in the past. However, Fay's forceful personality and good looks stir up unheard of activity in the town. Only Dr. Cameron seems to be sitting on the fence.
Janet is preoccupied: it is the jam making season. Hordes of small boys are beating a path to Arden House bartering old jam jars for pennies while the air is thick with bees attracted to the jam, much to the discomfort of two physicians busy healing themselves.
A girl is thrown from her horse and knocked unconscious trying to cross a river in which Alan Finlay is fishing. When she comes round her memory is gone. The partners decide that she must stay at Arden House while she recovers from her injuries and amnesia. Both men, Finlay in particular, are attracted to her, but Janet does not share their admiration for their uninvited guest.
Former radio producer Alison Bell goes talent hunting for the Cottage Hospital's children's Christmas party. Alas, talent is hard to find but eventually, for the sake of a very sick child, she persuades Doctors Cameron, Finlay and Snoddie to do their party pieces. On the day itself each doctor is bent on outshining the others, only to find that someone else outshines them all.
Jeannie Cranston, an overweight teenager, is a worry to Dr. Cameron. Food is her obsession: though supposedly on a diet she eats ravenously. Could it be due to worry? And what is the hold that the local blacksmith has over the girl? And then she disappears...
An artist causes a flutter in the Arden House dovecote.
The arrest of Fergus Lammerton starts a chain of events that brings Dr. Finlay hastening back from London.
It's four legs and not two that cause considerable trouble for the partners at Arden House.
Dr. Finlay concentrates on the case of a nervous novelist. Dr. Cameron tries his hand as an amateur electrician and Janet risks the fearful consequences.
Motoring to stately Walton House to see a new patient Dr. Finlay 'rescues' Barbara Davidson from a herd of Highland cattle. Their mutual attraction causes Dr. Cameron and Janet some concern.
Dr. Finlay finds that he has little to smile about when he returns to Arden House from a call on a patient.
The McTavish Bequest, a relic from Victorian days, was set up to provide for the ""moral improvement of the poor and their decent Christian burial"". Finlay replaces Cameron on the committee and tries to get things changed to provide for the poor while they're still alive.
Dr. Finlay is cheated out of first prize in an angling contest by Willie McTaggart, so he decides to teach him a lesson.
A baby dies after Dr. Finlay persuades the mother to let him vaccinate her child. Meanwhile Craig, a Tannochbrae J.P., is campaigning against vaccination. The townspeople flock to support Craig - and cross to the other side when Dr. Finlay makes an appearance in the street.
Dr. Finlay, after rising to an emergency while assisting a consultant surgeon in an operation, feels a renewal of the old urge towards the operating theatre. This means a return to medical school. Cameron tries to be impartial, but Janet is openly hostile.
The patter of tiny feet is suddenly heard in Arden House. Doctors Cameron and Finlay attempt to help Janet cope by feeding, changing, nursing and bathing the baby. But there is a serious clash of opinions about methods of upbringing. For the first time the two doctors realise that bringing up one's 'own' child is rather different from advising mothers how to bring up theirs.
Miss Seymour is the headmistress of a boarding school for the daughters of gentlemen. She has strong ideas about discipline and ladylike behaviour and her teaching methods are Victorian to say the least. During a rehearsal for a school play one of the girls falls off the stage and dislocates her shoulder. Dr. Finlay is sent for, and though he is greatly liked by the girls Miss Seymour has doubts about his influence on them.
There is justice in the world - at least Janet and Dr. Finlay think so - when it is announced that Dr. Cameron is to receive the Hamilton Society Award, given to the medical practitioner who has best served his profession in the last five years.
Young and attractive Clare Simmons, who is the pianist at the local cinema, is on her way home from work. As she quickly walks along a deserted lane she becomes aware of someone following her...
Mistress Niven, the local gossip and an unqualified nurse, is about to run into serious trouble with Dr. Finlay for endangering the life of a child by treating him unofficially and diagnosing incorrectly. Because there is no way Finlay can resort to law he sends Janet with a very scathing letter, which unfortunately never gets delivered.
When the Reverend John Scott becomes the target for abuse and calls for his dismissal by the townsfolk, old friend Dr. Cameron takes a personal interest. True, Scott had failed to turn up at christenings and funerals, and at one point had all but slandered the whole congregation, but as incident piled upon incident it became obvious to Cameron that there was a major health problem involved.
In 1931, as today, outbreaks of violence were a disturbing social problem. Finlay sees it as a direct result of inadequate and poor housing, and when it is decided to preserve a Roman fort newly discovered on a site earmarked for council houses he is angry, to say the least.
When a qualified District Nurse arrives in Tannochbrae, Mistress Niven realises her own job may be in jeopardy and does her best to get rid of her rival.
One of the major issues of today is discrimination and when the wife of a dwarf is involved in an accident it is soon evident that even in Tannochbrae it is nothing new.
Janet is behaving a little out of character, showing irritation over even the slightest triviality. Unfortunately Cameron is too preoccupied with a patient, and when Finlay eventually points out that something may be wrong physically it is almost too late to do anything.
In 1931, as today, one could not help being politically conscious and Dr. Finlay is no exception - as Janet and Dr. Cameron find out.
Dr. Finlay is a candidate in the forthcoming by-election. With only a few weeks to go his canvass returns show he is making little impact on the electorate. But when Cameron sends a helper his way it becomes increasingly obvious that he will not only save his deposit but also give his three opponents a run for their money.
After his defeat in the by-election Dr. Finlay is not his usual self. It may be that he is just run down, but when he insults a wealthy hypochondriac and is rude to Dr. Snoddie, Dr. Cameron begins to realise there is more to it than that.
Dr. Finlay receives an offer of an appointment at a London clinic, initially for a one month trial period, and as things are a little strained at Arden House Cameron considers it best for everyone that he accepts. But no-one foresees that at a party Finlay will meet an old 'friend'.
As the days go by at his new post in a London clinic things run pretty smoothly until Finlay disagrees with Dr. Maddock over the treatment of a patient who seems to be in a state of physical and mental decay.
Dr. Finlay has received an offer to become medical superintendent of a fashionable London nursing home. At first Dr. Cameron and Janet are not unduly worried, but when they learn that Barbara Pritchard has taken the first steps towards a divorce they realise that this could be the end.
Among the passengers on the London to Perth midday express is Dr. Finlay. Like several of his travelling companions he has a personal problem, which is eventually solved by a turn of events during the journey.
When Tannochbrae's undertaker James Gibson finds convincing evidence that he himself is shortly to join the clients who have gone before his attitude towards the subject of death undergoes a radical change.
Dr. Finlay, like most medical men, has no time for faith healers. But when one of them, Andrew Telfer, arrives in Tannochbrae and cures one of his patients Finlay begins to have second thoughts - especially when the cure is confirmed by a specialist.
Silence reigns supreme in Arden House. Neither doctor is talking to the other and it is left to Janet to try and bring them together. Not an easy task when she has no idea what caused the silence between them in the first place, though Mistress Niven has.
For a long time Dr. Snoddie has been trying to find a way of getting rid of his assistant Dr. Coutts. When he finds that she has been contravening regulations by handing out advice on a controversial subject it looks as though the perfect opportunity has arrived.
Sgt. Gilbey is on holiday and unfortunately his replacement Sgt. renfrew is a stickler for regulations. When he finds Dr. Finlay's car causing an obstruction he all but books him. Finlay storms back to Arden House...
A medical documentary film is being made in Tannochbrae. This causes a great deal of excitement locally, and when Cameron is invited to appear before the cameras he is delighted.
When Janet takes a holiday in the Hebrides the partners at Arden House find themselves having to take care of domestic problems as well as medical ones.
The arrival of Brother Jonas Jackson, a touring hell-fire and brimstone evangelist has immediate repercussions in Tannochbrae - some comic, some very much less so.
When Dr. Cameron is followed on his rounds by a perpetually smiling young man he is puzzled. But the young man's motives become clear when Cameron learns that the lad is the son of a North Country couple who have recently inherited the local undertaker's business.
When Peggy Davidson, the wife of a wealthy newspaper owner, returns to Tannochbrae Dr. Cameron is deeply concerned. When she was last in the area she attempted suicide. Relations with her husband are still strained and he fears she will make another attempt.
Dr. Cameron is afraid his partner means to leave him again: he's showing his usual alarming symptons of spring fever. Cameron makes an offer that everyone thinks is splendid. ""It'll give you a real anchor here, my boy"" says Finlay's father. But does an anchor have to resemble a ball and chain?
An accidental fall on to a stone floor and a baby is dead. The possibility that it was no accident is something that Cameron and Finlay are reluctant to face, but GPs have a duty to the public.
Dr. Finlay is concerned, and rightly so, when Dr. Cameron doesn't sleep at night, drives his car like a lunatic and tells Janet she is a 'very comely woman'.
It's natural for a man to retire to the town of his childhood. But a vital, energetic man like Elliot, former Governor of an Indian province, needs to be fully occupied. What can he find to do in a place like Tannochbrae?
Kate Dobbie complains of palpitations and of not being able to sleep at night. She is also frightened of dying. But Dr. Finlay is really disturbed when she tells him she is frightened of her husband.
When Annie Dougan claims she has been attacked by a man Mistress Niven is convinced she is lying and Dr. Finlay is uncertain of the girl's story. But Dr. Cameron has no opinion on the matter: he's too preoccupied with a certain Miss Wright.
When her father dies Dorrity is left all alone in a bothy in the hills. Dr. Cameron feels sorry for the girl and invites her to stay at Arden House. And then the trouble begins.
Rich Americans can be very determined...
Home to Tannochbrae after five years away and young Ian Webster finds everyone against him. Except Jess, his girl friend, and she loves him. That's the trouble.
Eric Calder is a very clever young amateur boxer. But is he good enough to stay three rounds with the booth boxer in the travelling fair? Dr. Finlay thinks so. So does Eric himself. But there is a lot more at stake than the £2 prize money.
David Hamil has devoted his life to his dead wife's wish that their son should become a doctor. The boy is studying hard and it looks as if Hamil's aim is bound to be realised. But there are unforeseen obstacles just around the corner. One of them is a woman.
When Bob Dewar wants a loan from the bank to open a garage Dr. Finlay decides to act as guarantor. But Dr. Cameron, although agreeing that Dewar is a skilful mechanic, has doubts about his business potential.
Dr. Cameron tells a 63 year old patient: ""You're straining too hard, like an old horse teamed with a young one in the shafts. Why not ease off while the grass is still green?"" But easing off is far from easy. And Dr. Cameron's own sixty-fifth birthday is looming.
