May 27, 2016
Nick Payne’s short, intense play Elegy, currently playing at the Donmar Warehouse, is undoubtedly clever and thought-provoking, but it left me feeling curiously underwhelmed. The acting, from its three protagonists, particularly Zoe Wanamaker as Lorna, a late...
May 18, 2016
A few days ago when out walking Bert, I bumped into someone I hadn’t seen for years and the two of us stood chatting for a good ten minutes or so before resuming our paths with our respective dogs – hers, a lovely black Labrador called Rye. Our exchange, though,...
May 7, 2016
As part of my website revamp I’d intended to ditch the Mum tab (above) which – despite my best intentions – is hardly ever used. The fact is I now blog almost exclusively about dementia. It was only because the very basic framework of my website wouldn’t allow me to...
Apr 24, 2016
I caught a fascinating programme on the radio the other day. A group of people who had campaigned to end disability discrimination in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s gathered to share memories in The Reunion on Radio 4. Their discussion was chaired by Sue MacGregor, who...
Mar 31, 2016
“Twitter is utterly pointless”. So says John Humphrys, Mastermind inquisitor and veteran presenter of the BBC’s flagship current affairs Today programme. I know Radio 4’s resident Rottweiler isn’t everyone’s cup of early morning tea, but as a fellow journalist I...
Mar 17, 2016
Not being able to retrieve memories is one of the many cruel symptoms of dementia. I have written a short memoir about the poignant moment when my mum, in the early stages of the condition, told me that she’d cried herself to sleep the night before because she...
Mar 1, 2016
I played hockey for years, first at school and then – from my mid 20s until I was about 40 – for Leatherhead Ladies second team in Surrey. We were otherwise known as the “Lipstick Eleven” (which says it all) and even now if I pass a pitch on a...
Jan 26, 2016
Carers have been much in my mind at the start of 2016. I keep bumping into them, either virtually online or in the flesh, and they’ve got me thinking about my new year’s resolution. For some time now I’ve been working on a newspaper piece about early (or young)...
Dec 17, 2015
In one of my very first blogs I paid tribute to husband-and-wife actors Timothy West and Prunella Scales for having the courage to speak publicly about Prunella’s dementia, and for doing so in such a constructive manner. Though acknowledging the difficulties, Mr West...
Nov 3, 2015
There is a poignant moment in “What Flowers Remember” when old Mr Clancy asks his 13-year-old friend, “Who will I be if I don’t remember my life?” Needless to say Delia, a young narrator with a wit and wisdom beyond her years, has no answer. Who does? I certainly...
