Oct 1, 2015
Watching Florian Zeller’s brutally honest play “The Father” left me unsettled. It left me unsure as to who each of its six characters actually were, of where they were, and when they were there. It left me confused and emotionally drained. But boy, did it move me....
Sep 16, 2015
When my mum moved into her nursing home the staff called her Kathleen because that was, actually, her name. But the truth is she was never called Kathleen, or Kathy, or Kate. My mum was always Kay. As is often the case, mum’s entry into the home was the culmination of...
Sep 1, 2015
Jean Lee’s memoir “Alzheimer’s Daughter” is at once a moving, highly personal and informative account of how the “brain-devouring monster” simultaneously swallowed up both her parents’ lives, and a universal story. It offers solace, through experiences shared, to...
Jul 14, 2015
Tim Lloyd-Yeates was an extraordinary man whose life enhanced hundreds if not thousands of others because he was possessed of a rare combination of insight, generosity of spirit and sharp intelligence. It hardly seems possible that he has gone – a gentle giant...
Jun 24, 2015
If you Google Dr Jennifer Bute the first entry you see is for her website. Its title is “Glorious Opportunity” and in many ways it tells you all you need to know about this remarkable woman. Formerly an executive partner in a large GP practice in Southampton, Dr Bute...
Jun 14, 2015
I arrived at Lambeth’s Healthy Living Club at the same time as 75-year-old William. He couldn’t find his wallet to pay for his transport. No matter, Dave Bell, a volunteer, was on hand to lend him the money. Later I saw Dave making sure that William, who has...
Jun 8, 2015
Two moments stood out for me as I watched the first of Channel 4’s three-part Dementiaville series, billed as a programme exploring a radical approach to dementia treatment being used in a Midlands care home’s specialist unit called Poppy Lodge. The first was...
May 26, 2015
Many of the pieces I write on dementia are about joining the dots, making connections between what different people are doing in various parts of the country, or even the world. Never has this been more true than at a recent conference held by Sitra – a...
May 19, 2015
This blog is dedicated to Tommy and Tony. Two men who each, in their very different ways, are helping to improve the lives of people with dementia. First up is Liverpudlian Tommy Dunne, who this week – Dementia Awareness Week (#DAW2015) – opened what is believed to...
Apr 24, 2015
Dementia Friendly. A phrase so frequently bandied about it’s in danger of losing its value. Over one million of us in the UK (including me) have attended a session on how to be a dementia friend and earned the right to wear a badge declaring that we are one. Fair...
