Thoughts of a carer

 I've just been writing a six-page summary for a solicitor, and compiling a further twenty-five pages of documentation to assist them. Viv and I are seeking help on an issue with the developers who built our housing estate: while the roads and paths look ok to the mobile, some aspects are a nightmare for those with a mobility issue. The problems are, in fact, obvious: dropped kerbs missing, and uneven or unmade surfaces. The devlopment was built around 2011 - 2013, well after the DDA (and then the Equality Act) became law.  I've emailed and written letters to the developers, and the council; they all seemingly acknowledge the issues but don't seem to have any particular sense of urgency about progressing matters. The council won't accept responsibility for anything until the roads are adopted; the developers say they've delivered what was agreed with the council in the approved plans. It's costing us £750 +VAT to get legal advice to progress our case; that the p

 As a child I was encouraged by my parents to trust 'knowledgeable people' - teachers, vicars and the like. Growing up I noticed that many of these people had achieved great things, for they tended to display an alphabet of post-nominal initials; I also noticed, though, that many of them seemed to be lacking in aspects of knowledge that other, more 'ordinary', people seemed to take for granted. Recently there was an example of a mother who, faced with looking after her disabled son unsupported during lockdown, had a mental breakdown and killed him. In order to protect us (or the NHS) from the effects of Covid, our leaders, on the advice of highly qualified experts (in SAGE), had set up an environment where the most vulnerable could not cope. To me, and many like me, it was obvious that this sort of thing would happen - and that it will continue to happen for years, long after lockdowns, as a result of the measures that have been implemented. Surely, in a civilised soci

  I sent a text yesterday, to Jacqui, our hairdresser: Hi Jacqui Hope you are well and coping with the madness Viv and I were booked for haircuts on Monday but we think you aren't supposed to be working? We will call you to fix up another date when Boris makes up his mind that it's safe ... so probably in 2024! Well hopefully sooner! That 2024 reference was meant as a joke, but when I read it back to Viv it didn't really seem like one: the way things are now: we haven't even got a visit from the hairdresser to look forward to, let alone holidays or trips to see family - which are noticable by their absence from our planner calendar. When lockdown struck in March last year we had four holidays planned and booked - two weeks in Germany in April, a week by the Essex coast in July, a week in Devon in September and one in the Isle of Wight at Christmas. We did manage Essex and Devon, not at the dates we had planned, but cancelled Germany and the Isle of Wight.  Like many we

It's January 2021 . We've been in lockdown, on and off, for twelve months.  The government seems to believe that there is a great consensus among the public that lockdown is a good idea; Viv and I disagree both that it is, and that there is a consensus. Casual conversations we have had over the last few months lead us to believe that a fair proportion of the population is 'sceptic', but are scared to voice their opinions openly.  The problem is that the government gets its message across, and media - both national and social - fall over themselves to enthuse about it. Dissent is not allowed; 'lockdown sceptics' are derided as granny-killers and covid-deniers; the 'experts' view is right, we are told. Yet progress has always depended on challenging the orthodox viewpoint. Luther, Galileo, Newton, Stephenson and Einstein are not the only people in history who insisted on looking at things differently from the 'experts' of their time, and history ha

I was blogging back in 2018 but caring and other responsibilities took priority.  I'll start again; my old posts are under  https://healthandcaresharpenduk.blogspot.com/ I'm in my early sixties, male, and am a carer for Viv, who is of a similar age.  She has had numerous encounters with the NHS, being epileptic, and having a Vestibular Schwannoma  . You'll hear much about our experiences in due course.