Notes from today

Recent poems might scorch this page

if I shared them! This is my Easter effort,

eggs dyed with red cabbage. Like so many things, they're consigned to the Bokashi compost tub now. I'd love to dispose of more, but that's not under my control...

Meanwhile, Allison contributed a wonderful song. Here's a quote:

'There's always going to be another mountain

I'm always gonna wanna make it move

Always gonna be an uphill battle

Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose.'

The last few weeks have been challenging - both personally and with wider work.

We tried to deliver the petition about the Alzheimer’s Society advertising campaign with 1660 signatures now; but the society refused to receive it. More about that later. Over the last few weeks, the whole movement for change has grown in many ways, with people in the UK and internationally shocked by what’s happening here. We're going to be asking for support soon. Meanwhile, I was invited to talk to Dementia Alliance Internationa, and here's a video showing some of the session. /watch?v=UeVKxZQqZQ0

Personally, I injured a leg in Frebruary, and that’s getting better but ongoing. I’ve had the cough cough cough virus for three weeks now. Before I go into poor me territory, it’s probably important to have a break. Kate White and Carol Sargent are giving so much support to the campaign. I’m having to cancel my second attempt to visit a good friend in Bristol, and I'm gutted about that.

Picked up my copy of ‘The Golden Notebook’ - Doris Lessing - yesterday. The book's battered and dog-eared, and the pages are brown. It meant so much in the radical 70s, and it’s still enthralling. I’m planning to watch the new Shere Hite documentary later. ‘Gaining Ground’ by Joan Barfoot is on the  reading list. That’s falling apart through sharing it so many times. Joni Mitchell too, I love her later stuff as well as her paving paradise days. A few nostalgic hours, from years back when there was more confidence in making changes.

Interesting times, and the world is in turmoil. How come that’s a cliché now? Some furious poems are in my laptop and should stay there, but it’s a help to write them. Hoping we can grow through all this. A friend closes messages with ‘solidarity.’ Friends and family feel crucial. Maybe that’s what we need right now, if we're going to make a small difference.

Such contrasts. I’ve been visiting the conference of Alzheimer’s Disease International this week. The sessions I heard were full of respect, compassion, inclusiveness, innovation and hope - from across the world. That’s a balm, and a reminder of all the good work that's going on.