I trained as a dentist in my own country. I have been living and working in England for about 15 years but not working in that profession.

I recently decided to try to return to dentistry but I had to achieve IELTS level 6 before I could be accepted for retraining. I also learnt that after 31December 2022, the rules for retraining were changing and if I did not pass the IELTS this year, it would take much longer to achieve my goal. With only one month to prepare I was desperate.

So, I called on Dr Winstanley (1924-2020) – because he was a dentist – and Pedrito (whom I had met when I was living in Manchester) to help me. I must say that even studying hard for one month, there was no way I was going to pass the IELTS exam...... I knew it and even my best friends said, candidly, that if I did pass, it would be a big miracle.

The first thing that happened on the day of the exam was that when I went to the examination centre in Bayswater, I found a notice saying 'PB examinees here'. (PB meant people who had chosen to do Paper-Based examinations). I was so surprised to see 'PB examinees here' – Pedro Ballester was waiting to help me here and now!

I thought to myself: 'Let's see what Dr Winstanley can do as well'. I took the exam – it was a whole day of reading, writing, speaking, listening. A week later I got the result: I had passed. An impossibility. Thanks to these two great intercessors.

IR (London, England)

15 August 2022

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