The mysterious ways of Dr McDowell and Mr Minister

WE all, dear reader, know the strange and mysterious tale of Dr McDowell and Mr Minister.

A good man, the doctor, perhaps a trifle self-important, perhaps over-bearing. But he has a secret that none of us can guess at.

He is unbearably tired of the image of perfection he sees in the mirror every time he gazes therein - the neatly trimmed hair, the once firm if now slightly slackening jaw, the commitment to truth and justice that radiates from his features.