Sir, I noted with mixed feelings and some surprise that my email dated 26 November 2014 appeared in the letters column in BDJ Volume 218 No. 4 on 26 February. The pleasure that I had managed to get something published in your reputable journal was somewhat tempered by the delay 'twixt sending the email and its publication: some three months.

This delay, between me suffering the attack of Sudden Onset GDC-Induced Apoplexy (SOGIA – soon to be recognised by the WHO as a new clinical dental condition) which motivated me to email the Journal, and that email's appearance on the letters page, seems rather worryingly excessive. Presumably, my email lay on an electronic spike somewhere, slowly losing its cutting edge relevance, as it was overtaken by Ebola, Barry Cockcroft and other more important stuff.

Now, writing to the BDJ is not something I would normally do while enjoying good mental health. But this time, I would like to use your letters column to inform any of the very few people in the dental world who have ever heard of me, that I long ago (about three months, in fact) stopped worrying about the clowns at the GDC. A thrilling New Year is well under way – I can recommend gluten free, organic Ashtanga yoga to all your readers.

I can also recommend, with apologies to Groucho Marx, that, as a UK dentist, in my opinion it is best only to be a member of those organisations who legally insist you join them, which is why I am still GDC-registered but may well have let my BDA membership lapse at some point.

1. By email