'Defeating Dementia' Report Launch

Oh my, what a week this has been!

Wednesday saw the official launch of a report entitled 'Defeating Dementia' which was commissioned by Alzheimer's Research UK. Mike and I had been invited to attend the launch in Westminster and had planned another trip to the British Museum for the morning followed by the launch in the afternoon to maximise our time in London. Anyone wanting to read the full report can download form the ARUK website.

Obviously ARUK wanted to get as much publicity for the event as possible and so there were numerous press releases issued, one of which focussed on my region and so my name was included as one of their Champions who would be attending. There were 6 other Champions there, all in different regions so lots of publicity there too. As a result of this the phone hardly stopped ringing on Tuesday!

As there was an embargo on the release until launch day, I did a pre-recorded interview with Danny Pike from BBC Sussex and Surrey, who I've spoken to several times before and he asked me for a follow-up interview the day after the launch too. Thanks Danny. Then there was Arrow fm with Lorraine White and there were arrangements to be made for an interview with Meridian, our local TV station on launch day itself. Phew!

In the midst of all this there came another call and this was totally unexpected!

It was Sue from ARUK to say that Sir Terry Pratchett's office had called to say that he might not be able to come to the launch. He was going to be part of the panel of experts and I was disappointed when I heard this as I'd been looking forward to speaking with him. Then she threw in "I know this is a lot to ask but........." they wondered if I would consider filling his time slot. It wasn't definite and they still hoped he'd be able to come but they needed a contingency plan and they thought that my mum's story would give an extra dimension to procedings, which were largely about research and lack of funding.

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

After I'd finished laughing at the concept of me speaking in place of TP I said that of course I wouldn't mind as I don't mind speaking to a large group. At that time I had completely blanked from my mind the fact that 150 people had accepted their invitations and the audience would include 50 of the leading research scientists specialising in dementia, MPs and representatives from age-related research and charities. Anyway, it was only a contingency plan. Later that day I received another call to say that they had confirmation that he was going to come so I could stand easy but could I please still be prepared just in case.

As we got on the train on Wednesday morning I was looking forward to the day ahead. I had to leave the phone on just in case ARUK called about the interview with Meridian TV which was originally planned for the morning but was done at the venue in the end. The full story is here and includes footage of Jamie, who suffers form early-onset Alzheimer's, and Vicki Graham with a few words from me later on - Defeating Dementia launch. The actual interview took 10 minutes so they only used a snippet but it was a good overview.

I was sitting on the train doing a crossword puzzle when the phone rang. It was Sue. TP couldn't make it after all and would I still be able to speak in his slot? Gulp! Yes, of course I would. Gulp!

I'll have to write about our trip to the British Museum another time as I took loads of photos and it was wonderful. After lunch we headed off to Westminster and were glad we'd arrived early when we saw the size of the queue. You have to go through strict security to get in, for obvious reasons, and it's both nerve-wracking and comforting to see Police officers with guns on guard.

They'd reserved a seat for Mike on the front row so I could see him, which was nice. The napkins came home with us with some scrummy cakes wrapped inside which we ate on the train as we had to leave promptly after the event.

I looked at the table at the front of the room and there was my name 'Susie Hewer, ARUK Champion' sitting next to Prof Alistair Burns (National Clinical Director for Dementia, National Health), Rebecca Wood (Chief Executive ARUK), Prof Julie Williams (Prof of Neuropsychological Genetics, Cardiff University - Among her most important work is the discovery of susceptibility genes for Alzheimer’s disease – findings highlighted by Time Magazine as among the top 10 medical breakthroughs of 2009). Gulp again!

The panel was chaired by Shelagh Fogarty of BBC Radio 5 Live.

As I watched the room fill up I read through the guest list and then stopped because there were so many influential people in the audience and they were going to be listening to me. It wasn't talking in front of a crowd that troubled me; it was that when I tell mum's story I have to delve into the depths of the memories that I keep buried because they are too painful to remember. Sometimes something bubbles up to the surface when I'm speaking and catches me unawares so I have learnt to take a deep breath when that happens.

With a time limit of 10 minutes max for my speech, I'd been thinking about tailoring it to suit the audience and including some of mum's strange behaviour and the psychotic incidents and thankfully I managed to get through them without incident; although I did have to take a long pause when I recalled her saying the we should take her out and shoot her or put her in a home because she was getting more and more muddled. I didn't dare look at my fellow Champions as I knew that they would be reliving their own stories as I spoke.

From the look on Alistair's face, I must have been saying something serious when this was taken. I see that I was using my hands to illustrate a point which is something I always have to try and control.

What finally got me was when I was talking about mum's last few months spent in the nursing home and when I sat down I really struggled to hold back the tears. Mike said that my speech was really good and very powerful and that my genuine grief at the end really brought the issue home.

Several people commented afterwards that they were very moved and ARUK said that others felt it had given the report context and brought the event to life. The lady who is talking to me here made a point of coming over to thank me. She said she'd heard me speak before and that she works in geriatric care and appreciated what I'd said because sometimes she finds it hard to deal with the very challenging behaviour exhibited by some of the patients.

So from now on I wish to be known as Susie Hewer, understudy for Sir TP! Can you imagine how disappointed the audience must have been though, thinking they'd be listening to him and then ending up with me?!!!!!

In this line-up we have Rebecca, Julie, Julian Huppert (MP for Cambridge), me and Shelagh Fogarty. She did a brilliant job of chairing the meeting and made a big fuss of my marathoning and fund-raising antics when she introduced me, which of course got a few laughs! We had a long chat afterwards and she took down my details for future use on her radio show which was excellent. We also discovered that she is originally from Liverpool and was born only a stones throw from where Mike grew up. Small world.

Seahorse mittens

Oh my goodness it's been a busy start to the year and I've been remiss in updating my blog as usual!

The Hippocampus mittens were finished weeks ago and they are gorgeous. They match my jacket perfectly too.

There's so much to write about but I'm too tired now and it will have to wait until tomorrow when I'm feeling fresher.

Afterthought thumb (and a sky)

There were 2 options for the thumb given with the pattern, one slightly longer than the other which is this one that I tried first.

Although it looked lovely, I felt it was just that bit too long so I decided to rip back and knit the other version.

The lower motif is the same in both versions so at least there wasn't too much to undo.

I took this photo to show how I undo stitches when doing colourwork - by inserting a needle through the row of stitches I want to rip back to.

It's quick and easy and the only thing you have to worry about is getting your stitches onto the needle the right way round.

So here's the finished version.

It's a perfect fit and I'm really pleased with it.

Now all I've got to do is knit the second mitten.







OK, OK, so I said no more skies unless there was something special about them.

Well this one is so moody I just had to show it.

I love the dark outline of the bare trees against those gorgeous colours.

One year ends and another begins

Doesn't time seem to go much quicker the older one is!

I've decided not to upload all my sky photos and just to be selective as they are really slowing down my page. So, although I will still be taking photos and squirreling them away in true geeky fashion, I won't be clogging up my blog with any (unless they are really special or as in this one are on a significant date).

This one was taken on 31/12/11 and 1/01/2012 was so dark, dreary and wet that I didn't even bother snapping it!

I did, however, go out for a lovely run first thing before the weather really worsened. 7 hilly miles with few people around; no doubt nursing hangovers. I also made sure that I ran on the last day of 2011 just for completeness and so I felt as if I'd earned my large glass of Macallan and ice

My serious training for 2012 starts tomorrow.

On Boxing Day I joined the Hippocampus Mittens KAL over on Ravelry.

I've never made mittens before as I haven't worn them since I was a small child but the pattern looked so gorgeous that I just had to have a go as I adore seahorses.

The yarn is Fleece Artist 'Trail Socks' which has been lying around for a couple of years so it was about time I used it. The colours are glorious shades of mauve and turquoise but sadly it doesn't show up very well in the photos. It will go beautifully with one of my favourite winter jackets.

There was only one bit of consternation when I didn't read the chart properly and made a sticky-out thumb gusset instead of the afterthought thumb gusset marked here by the 2 needles.

Thankfully I only had to rip back a few rows.

In other news, we had a trip into London to see the exhibition entitled 'The tomb of the unknown craftsman' curated by Grayson Perry at the British museum. It was an excellent exhibition and his pottery is stunning.

What a treat. Grayson Perry has a dark, satirical humour and it is well worth a visit if you are in London. The piece de resistance is a ship built out of cast iron and decorated with artefacts from the museum. The centrepiece is a tomb containing a flint, representing the tool used by the first craftsman on earth.

Some are put off by his cross-dressing transvesticism (sp?) and his overtly sexual imagery but if you can get past that then his craftsmanship is superb. I love the way he has forged his own path in the world of modern art as a lot of people are really dismissive of crafts such as pottery. The thing that must really irk him is even though he won the Turner prize and is now well established, the thing that people often focus upon is his alter ego, named Claire, rather than the work he has produced.

After the exhibition we trotted off to one of our favourite Indian restaurants - Veeraswamy. If you click on the link you'll see bits of the interior which was revamped a few years ago.

It was a successul visit on 3 counts:

i) The food, as always, was sublime!
ii) I loved these motifs on the stair carpet leading up to the toilets as I think it could be a good starting image for a rag rug for our front door. Using different colours though.
iii) Mike took some lovely photos of the dining room and has been inspired to paint a scene of the restaurant in oils!

He hasn't been painting in oils for very long (about 18 months I think) but he's obviously a natural as he has a really good eye.

Here's a painting, based on a Gauguin, he was working on before Christmas. I'm not usually a fan of Gauguin but I do love this painting.

Xmas Pudding Dash & skies 116 - 122

Well, once again I have blithely wrapped and delivered/sent some knitted gifts without taking photos of them.

Hey ho, suffice to say that knitted handwarmers, aka fingerless mitts or gloves, are always well received especially when the recipient suffers from arthritis and the gloves are knit in light-as-air mohair which is warm but not too heavy for sore hands.

Saturday was the annual Christmas Pudding Dash in the beautiful grounds of Ashburnham Place. This was the 6th running of the event and I've done it 4 times now and each time in fancy dress to get into the festive spirit.

Here's the before picture (notice the slippers!). Sorry but I can't get it to flip the right way up for some reason.









Here's the after photo, taken back at home.

I don't know what my time was as I didn't bother with my Garmin - sometimes races are just for fun!







The medal is in the shape of a Christmas tree and I love it. Last year it was a snowflake.











Now for some more skies:

12th December
















13th December

















14th December

















15th December

















16th December

















17th December

















18th December

Skies 110 -115 and cake

Why cake?

Well, I received an eagerly awaited email from that nice Lord Coe about the Olympics.

Unfortunately it didn't tell me that I would be carrying the Olympic flame which was rather disappointing. Sadly, Dione didn't get through either so neither of us will be carrying the flame for dementia which is a shame because we could have gained a lot of publicity from it for the charity.

So the only thing to do was to bake a cake (well, I did actually consider the wine option as well). Chocolate and orange with cream cheese and chocolate icing and filling. Jolly nice it was too!

Now I've really got to finalise my fund-raising events for 2012 in a slightly different way. Hmmmmmmmmm.

6th December















7th December
















8th December
















9th December
















10th December

















11th December

Running rejection - but there's always knitting and crafting!

Well I didn't make it into the select crew of the Runner's World competition. No surprise there! I still felt a bit crestfallen though.

My running is going remarkably well at the moment and all the speedwork I did for the Liverpool marathon seems to have made a difference to my general ploddiness (I know it isn't a real word but it should be as it describes my running perfectly).

Knitting wise it's mostly secret stuff for Christmas although I have finally picked up my poor neglected Oregon cardigan at last and am about 4 inches down the second sleeve. About time too - actually it's almost exactly 2 years since I abandoned it because it reminded me of Mike being rushed into hospital. Now I'm back into it I'm really enjoying it as I'd forgotten how much I enjoy Fair Isle

There is one thing to show though - this little scarf made in Artesano alpaca which is a lovely snuggly yarn.

I had a competition for those people who have supported my fund-raising each year since I ran my first marathon in 2004. As I was trying to beat my marathon best time this year I asked them to guess my best time for 2011 and the person who guessed closest to my best time would get a scarf of their choice knitted by me.

My best time was a dismal 5:03 and the person who won was a lovely lady I've never met but who sends a cheque for ARUK each year and she chose a scarf like one I knitted several years ago. She really liked the yarn I'd used and asked for the same colourway. Thankfully I found it on the internet.

Now for something I've wanted to have a go at for ages - felting.

Mike and I went to a local art show recently and I saw Angela Dewar's work and liked it a lot. I saw she was doing day courses in felting for beginners and so I just had to try it. The original course was for a maximum of 10 people and was to be held in a hall in Sevenoaks which is quite a long way from home so I was more than happy when Angela had to cancel that and opt for groups of 2 people in her studio at home.

When we were greeted by Angela and treated to lovely mince pies and coffee upon arrival it was obviously going to be a good day.

First Angela showed us some examples of felting and I love the way she incorporates embroidery into her work. Then it was our turn to play - what fun!

First we created a piece of 'pre-felt'. I chose just 2 colours and had the idea that I would applique a heart on it.

This turned out to be an excellent idea as Angela then showed us how to cut out and insert felt into the flat piece. The heart is made by combining red and orange strands to give a subtle shaded effect.

Then I needle-felted another heart into the middle of the red heart.

I can see that this is a very addictive craft and I can't wait to experiment with it.

These photos show both side of the finished felt and I'm having difficulty deciding which side should be the front as I love both of them in different ways.

Now they are fully dry I'm going to experiment with some surface embroidery.

This quick project involves layering wool and metallic ribbon and is designed to be made into a cuff.

I love the way the ribbon creates a crinkly effect but I won't make it into a cuff for myself as my arms are too short and chubby.

Perhaps it could be a wall-hanging?

In this final piece Angela encouraged us to incorporate other items into the felt and I really love this idea.

I've used a strand of novelty yarn, just wiggled around and a snippet of coarse string mesh secured in place with a few strands of a lighter wool.

I cant wait to embroider this piece using bold colours.

We had such a lovely day and Angela treated us to a gorgeous lunch of homemade soup and bread. It must have been good as I told Mike that Angela's bread was a good as, if not maybe even better than my own and that doesn't happen very often!

Last but not least we have sky 109.

What a lovely apricot glow.

Skies 87 - 108

How time flies and so many skies to upload!

14th November.

The fog descended during the previous evening and didn't clear all day.










15th November.

The fog just got worse and worse. Thank goodness we didn't need to travel in it as it would have been treacherous.










16th November.

Phew, the fog is nearly all gone with just a bit hanging in the valley.











17th November

Then we had glorious blue skies and it was so warm that I am still running in a vest and shorts and the horses still haven't got their winter blankets on.

Unseasonally warm in fact and that really isn't a good thing for so many reasons, not least that it has been the driest November on record in our area and they're already talking about water shortages looming large. Plus all the plants and wildlife are confused with things in flower that should still be sleeping and insects that should have died off still buzzing around.

18th November.

Another glorious day and I took advantage of it by running across the fields.











19th November

The sun is setting such a long way away from when I started taking the photos back in September. It's fascinating watching the changes.









20th November















21st November
















22nd November
















23rd November
















24th November
















25th November

















26th November


















27th November

I just managed to catch this partial rainbow in the morning as it was getting light. There had been a short shower followed by the sun rising and the rainbow only lasted a few seconds.










Although the days are bright, the temperature has started to fall and so it was time to light the woodburner in the evening.

Tinker was very pleased about that!












28th November

We had our first ground frost last night and I took this at the back of the house just as the sun had risen, at the front, as I liked the pink tinges it gave the clouds.












29th November
















30th November

















1st December


















2nd December
















3rd December
















4th December

Phew all up to date again on the sky front.

Later will be news about running, knitting and other crafting.