Smartly dressed, neatly bearded and with a digestive system to die for, Dr Allinson fired off pearls of wisdom as regularly as his bowels. Our nation of work dodgers – a rising percentage of which cannot even drag themselves out of bed in the mornings – should heed the following advice: go skinny dipping. On ‘sick note Britain’: “A daily swim acts as a tonic to the system generally, while the action of the sun and air on the naked skin is very invigorating. Even the most delicate may begin to have a sponge-down with cold water every morning. Those whose lives are chiefly spent in offices should get up early and have a swim before breakfast.”