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This Life: Healthy interests
Retired Leeds GP David Adshead, 67 helped make family planning free on the NHS.
He's also keen on eradicating poverty, playing the piano in tandem, singing, acting and talking about economics. Interview by Lisa Parhad.
"My first job was teaching, before I became a GP. I taught human biology to high school students at Bolton School and Colne Valley High School for five years after studying at Cambridge and then Hull.
I felt the general atmosphere of school and the way the subject was taught very satisfying. I also taught in schools for elite boys and girls in India while on a gap year. I travelled to the houses of these elite families but I also travelled amongst the poor and this is when I became aware of Third World poverty and decided there was something wrong with our economy if some people were so rich and others barely had enough for food. I decided I would do something if I could.
I am proud of my political actions. In 1974, I was part of an environment group and we asked Tower Hamlets Council in London to make family planning freely available to everyone in the borough, basically we highlighted how much money they would save as a result. The following year Parliament debated free family planning on the NHS and our contribution meant they brought it in.
I established a general practice in Chapeltown, Leeds, where the principle of good patient care always took precedence over the attempt to make as much money as possible. Now I am beginning to need the services of a GP myself, I am pleased St Martin's Practice, which is the practice I founded, still applies these principles in all its activities, for which, as a patient I am very grateful and proud.
The best thing about Leeds is the buzz of ideas which you can tap into if you know where to go.
To relax I play one of my two pianos while my friend plays the other. I
have probably the largest collection of music for two pianos in the country. I also sing in two little choirs and belong to an acting group at the Seven Arts Centre in Chapel Allerton.
My childhood was very happy and privileged. I was brought up in Manchester and my parents were professionals. I was a very clever lad and got a scholarship to go to Manchester Grammar school, which forced me to get good A-levels and go to Cambridge. I have a big brother and I learnt from him. I think being the second child is quite advantageous
from that point of view.
The best advice I could give is to know yourself, be true to yourself
and don't just follow fashions.
The last time I cried was not long ago. My neighbour is suffering with dementia and her son asked me to help with an emergency. In the face of the difficulties he is dealing with he is heroic and it brought a tear to my eye.
The only thing I couldn't live without is a sympathetic partner.
I am a humanist, I think we should use every bit of wisdom to help solve the world's problems.
The person I would most like to meet is Nelson Mandela because I'd like to learn about wise leadership, which is something I think the world is sorely lacking. My second choice would be Kofi Annan, the previous
Secretary General of the United Nations, because I thought he was a wise leader.
My joke is: two mobile phones get married, the wedding was marvellous but the reception was awful.
Something that might surprise people is my partner Lorna and I founded Cafe Economique, a discussion group about economics. When we retired, we were both interested in doing an O-level in economics but couldn't find anywhere in Leeds to do it, so we set up a discussion group one
Saturday morning, invited a speaker and we had about 24 people turn up.
That was about three or four years ago, we still meet regularly and this year helped organise the world's first conference on the steady state economy, which is an alternative economic model to the one we
have at the moment.
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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