Happenings ten years time ago

In October 1966, the British rhythm and blues band, The Yardbirds, released a new single. It was the first single to feature the name of a man who would soon become familiar to just about everyone connected to music. The single was entitled Happenings ten years time ago and featured Jeff Beck on lead guitar and the new boy, Jimmy Page, also playing lead guitar in a format hitherto not thought of.

Today is the 69th birthday of James Patrick Page and I would wager that his name is familiar to more people than that of the Duchess of Cambridge who also celebrates her birthday.

It is fitting for me to consider the title of this seminal song because in two days time, it will be ten years since the death from breast cancer of my first wife Kathryn. In accordance with her wishes, she died at home barely three years after having been diagnosed in January 2000. At just 33, she was very young and the experience of being her carer still lingers as one of my most challenging experiences. Her life had been fraught with sadness and it was a relief to her and me when she died. It was a relief because we were made well aware of her prognosis in the summer of 2001. Sudden death is very hard to understand but it is arguably easier when it is expected.

Looking back, I can scarcely believe what the ten years since have held for me. I sold our house almost immediately because I recognised the need to move on. I returned to my Sales career not for a challenge but for safety. I knew it would hold few fears for me and I could ease slowly back in to real life. I decided to relocate to be away from family and friends. I knew I needed that time and I'm so glad I did.

I have learned such separations seldom last for long and within six months I had met Mindy. It was Mindy who asked me what I wanted to do with my life recognising the extent of my boredom with sales. We were walking along a coastal path in Cornwall when she asked this and I replied that I would really like to study law. After five minutes I corrected myself and stated that what I really wanted to do was to practice medicine and attempt to learn from some of the appalling experiences which I had witnessed as Kathryn's carer.

I did not envisage my kidney failure in the New Year of 2005 and have since come to eye the New Year with suspicion. I still consider myself very lucky to have been offered my new kidney so quickly and remain grateful. As often happens, the happiness was soon to be tempered by profound sadness and our baby daughter Thea died from meningococcal septicemia aged just fifteen months in June 2006. Without question, this remains the most difficult time of my life and no day passes without thoughts and memories of her. Once more though, the pendulum swung back to give us our son Reuben who has blessed our lives beyond our wildest dreams.

Back to the medicine though. I can't believe I'm within touching distance of the end of this degree and would have laughed you out of the room ten years ago had I been sufficiently sober to do so. I never say never but feel reasonably confident that the next ten years will a little more relaxed.

Finally, happy birthday James Patrick Page the Grand Master of guitar riffs and orchestrator of the most dynamic sound yet. There were many who would have scoffed at the prospect of him graduating to old age during the hedonistic excesses of the 1970s. "C'est la vie" say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell - to quote Chuck Berry.