RETIRED Borders consultant physician, Oliver Eade will be signing copies of his books in the Chaplaincy Centre, Borders General Hospital on 11 November in aid of the Friends of the BGH where he worked until hanging up his stethoscope for the last time in 2003 when he took to writing.

He has since written plays, several of which have been staged, short stories and novels for young readers, young adults, and adults, winning awards and prizes in all these categories.

His latest book, In the Blink of an Eye, a Seven-thousand-year Journey, a blend of fiction and fact co-written with his Texan granddaughter, Lucia, who illustrated it, is a finalist for the international Page Turner 2021 Book Award.

Inspired by the pandemic, and written during lockdown, the central character, a young man attached to a ventilator in the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary because of COVID-19, relives his love for a young musician whilst experiencing flashbacks to previous incarnations, each of which identifies a major advance in the story of medicine, together with factual accounts and the writer’s own experiences as a hospital doctor.

Also written during COVID-19 lockdown is The Zookeeper’s Daughter. Inspired and illustrated by his nine-year old Swiss granddaughter, Lara, and dedicated to Sir David Attenborough, it tells the story of a half-Swiss, half-Scottish girl, who, because of a special book about wild animals and a spider who weaves a magical web, is transported into the lives of animals endangered because of what we humans are doing to our planet.

These and other books will be on sale, and all proceeds will go towards supporting NHS staff who have been flat out during the pandemic for the people of the Borders.