Jun 29, 2014
When I launched my website five months ago I wanted its home page to reflect who I am. I thought about this and came up with my three tabs: Writer, Campaigner, Mum. Strictly speaking, if my different hats were placed in order of priority, Mum would come...
Jun 11, 2014
Memory. Even before I began to write about dementia the subject fascinated me. At university I studied for an English degree that included post-structuralist readings of the Romantic poets (don’t even ask) and decided, in my 22-year-old wisdom, that memory as such...
Jun 6, 2014
I was immensely privileged to have been invited to the Founder’s Day parade at the Royal Chelsea Hospital this week. It took place on a bright, blustery morning just before D Day and, though I should have been prepared, I found myself ambushed by emotion as I watched...
May 31, 2014
A small piece of history was made this week. It involved the BBC’s flagship current affairs Today programme, its veteran presenter John Humphrys and the normalising of dementia. Aired in the primetime 8.10am slot normally reserved for Prime Ministers and chief...
May 23, 2014
A few years before my dad died I sat up drinking with a girlfriend and found myself telling her – much to my surprise and with an honesty born out of alcohol – that I couldn’t imagine a world without him. He’s been gone five years now and in the intervening period...
May 13, 2014
Scrolling through my Twitter feed (as you do) I came across Gina Shaw. I didn’t know anything about her but I opened a link and there she was, telling her story. Very powerful it was too. Gina, sitting in what looks like her living room, tells us that she’s 61,...
May 5, 2014
I’ve been delighted by recent reports of German day centres that take different generations, from older people to toddlers. The idea isn’t merely practical – logical in many ways – it warms the cockles of my heart. There’s something just so right about it. As I’ve...
Apr 25, 2014
Over the Easter holidays current husband and I passed a rainy afternoon watching Quartet, the 2012 film about a colourful if not always harmonious group of residents living in a retirement home for professional musicians. Despite its stella cast – Dame Maggie Smith,...
Apr 18, 2014
A few days ago Kate Swaffer wrote a post entitled “Big life, small suitcase” about the potent symbolism of packing someone’s entire existence into a modest piece of luggage. Describing how she brought her late friend’s belongings back to the UK, Kate said, “As I...
Apr 11, 2014
“Where Memories Go – why dementia changes everything” is a memoir so beautifully written that at times it reads like a love letter from a daughter to a mother. It is also, as its title suggests, something else altogether: a journalist’s investigation into what it...
