A friend in need

He offered me a cigarette. “It’s only bloody ophthalmology; you could get the whole course on a postage stamp.” We both laughed drunkenly. But at 3 am I sat bolt upright, letting out a gasp. I leapt to my desk and opened my “pocket guide” to ophthalmology. The exam was at 9 am. This wasn’t revision, because I hadn’t ever opened the book before. Unblinking and wide eyed I poured knowledge into my hungover, …