Author Archive

Archie is feeling quite sorry for himself after a visit to the vet. It seems he was bitten on his tail and had developed an absesess. The contraption around his neck is to stop him lick the wound but this also means he can’t defend himself so he is not alllowed outside. So for the moment he is recuperating in our flat but we will return Archie to Rose Lodge in the next couple of weeks.

EAST Devon MP Hugo Swire will join locals raising money for dementia at a knitting-themed coffee morning next Saturday (May 12).

The ‘Darn To Dementia’ event is being organised by local fundraiser Jo Earlam who recently ran the London Marathon for South West Alzheimer’s charity BRACE.

Jo said she wanted people to bring along knitted scarves and jumpers to help raise much needed cash for dementia research.

Her own father was recently diagnosed with dementia and both her grandparents died from the brain disease. In addition a close friend has been diagnosed with PCA, the same type of dementia as the author Terry Pratchett.

Local MP Hugo Swire got in touch with Jo after he read about her fundraising efforts in the local newspaper. So far she has raised £1000 for BRACE.

Mr Swire said: “There can hardly be a family in this County who have not been affected by Alzheimer’s.  I am hugely supportive of any efforts made to research this hideous condition which blights so many people’s lives.”

Jo said the coffee morning, to be held at Tipton St John Community Hall from 10 – 12.30pm, was open to anyone who wanted to support Alzheimer’s research.

She said: “It would be great if we can get as many people along as possible. There’ll be tea, coffee and cakes – and of course a lot of local knitting.

“The knitting theme came about because dementia leaves people frayed at the edges, much like most of my knitting efforts.

“Don’t worry if you can’t knit yourself, you can still come along and enjoy the event.

“It’s wonderful that Hugo Swire is coming along to support us. I know that he’s very interested in dementia so it will be great to hear his views on how we can work together as a community to combat this terrible illness.”

BRACE supports a number of research teams in Bristol and the South West, including scientists at Frenchay Hospital and Bristol University.

Here is the brochure for the event:  coffee morning

We’ll take that as a resounding YES!

You are SO funny!

And thank you for helping to look after the rabbits.

When Kathy joined us a few weeks ago, she preferred to stay in her room most of the time, and didn’t seem to be very happy. It was clear from her response to Archie that she loved cats and so we thought perhaps she would enjoy looking after one herself. Today we visited the cat rescue centre and collected Maddie who is eight years old. As it turned out, by the time we had gone through the Cat Resque vetting process, Kathy had become more sociable, spending a lot more time in the lounge with other residents and being happier in the process. So perhaps she is less in need of a ‘personal cat’. It appears that we now have a second community cat which is no bad thing given the demands on Archie’s time!

Maddie is affectionate but quite shy so for the moment she is acclimatising in Karen’s office. Cathy was at any rate happy to meet Maddie…