18 months and a day, 78 weeks, 13 thousand one hundred and twenty eight hours, that’s how long it is since Dad died. There have been 547 sun sets and 547 sun rises since Dad left us. Well, true to form, this isn’t an easy calculation to make because technically speaking I think it should […]
Last night I had the absolute honour to attend the Dying Matters annual lecture at the Royal College of Physicians. The theme You Only Die Once: Kate Granger’s story. Kate sent me a DM asking if I’d like to come a couple months ago, and I can honestly say I wandered around with a grin […]
Short, random post for you all. The selfie (word of the year for 2013) has been getting some schtick lately, not least because Barrack Obama decided to take one at Nelson Mandela’s funeral. There’s a whole other blog post right there, but I’ve been thinking a lot about selfies, what they represent, and whether they’re […]
Last week there was a little storm brewing in my twitter stream. Patient Opinion, who have been an active participant on social media and have been using it to power good for a number of years, were suddenly inundated with concerns for their future. Tim Kelsey, the National Director for Patients and Information at NHS […]
Waking today I remembered that twelve months ago, the 29th November, was an equally drab and grey November morning. Not too much different to any other autumn morning when the sun stays at half light as though its too apathetic to break through the clouds. It suited me, felt like an honest reflection of my […]
It’s twelve months, one year, 365 days since my Dad died. http://instagram.com/p/gunhbpiYTj/ It doesn’t feel real and yet I’ve developed a low level awareness that’s constantly there. It feels like yesterday but it also feels much longer than a year. If there is one thing that I can emphatically say I’ve learnt over the last […]
Fifty one weeks, four hours and about 15 minutes ago my Dad died. Bobby J let out his last breath, peacefully, at home very much knowing he was loved. I’ve written about his death before. My Dad’s life and death, have provided the lens through which I viewed my own life of late, and challenged […]
This is the view of the Rocky Mountains in Banff taken from Bow Falls yesterday. What has this got to do with Hospice Care Week? Everything. One of the objectives of Hospice Care Week is to raise people’s awareness of the work that hospices do. There are many myths and misconceptions about hospice care that […]
I’m a member of a very small club that I really wouldn’t want any of you to be members of. That ‘club’ that exists only in loose tweets or sharing of experience, and is no way a club in the true sense of the word, is made up of people who have all felt the […]
I’ve been grinning to myself all day today, for two reasons. Firstly because Social Care Curry Club was featured in the Guardian; ok so it wasn’t in print it was online on their Social Care Network pages but I’m delighted that it’s got some recognition and yet more support. We’ve been brilliantly lucky that people […]