Mature Times - True life stories

Victim of the revolution

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:27:30 +0100

How does it feel to be in a building set on fire by chanting revolutionaries and with all the exits seemingly blocked? Thankfully few of us will ever find out. But one woman who did was Merope Coulson. In 1978, aged just 22 she found herself posted to Tehran, a political hotspot ... little knowing that she was walking into a revolution ...

Life after an Aneurism

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 14:09:20 +0000

"I owe my life to my doctor and the medical team at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth who discovered the defect on a scan - which was liable to rupture at any time."

Cracked

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 13:56:18 +0100

Imagine tapping a large Easter egg, cracking it into a jigsaw of different sized pieces, the foil wrapper glistening and the comforting chocolate contents spilling out. Think of a different scenario, a hammer hitting a skull repeatedly, the bones cracking and the cranial spinal fluid oozing down the nostrils, the skin wrapper swollen beyond belief, blue and bruised. This is what happened to my father the week before Easter

'Clearing up the clutter' by Marjorie Stiling

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 10:02:28 +0000

It comes to everyone. In anticipation, sensible people like you and me, make a Will. Then we can go on enjoying life knowing , that when that time comes, the legal path will be smooth for our family and friends left behind. Our estate will be taken care of, our wishes carried out. But what about our clutter?

The vagaries of gambling by a self-confessed addict

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 13:37:11 +0100

More people in the UK now gamble than ever before, encouraged by the internet and the building of new casinos - and arguably fuelled by the increase in the availability of easy credit. But whilst most simply enjoy the occasional flutter, others develop an addiction as deadly as alcohol and drugs, devastating both individual and family life. Mature Times' reader Brian Halter has written the following, deeply honest piece.

Having dementia and being gay: fighting the system

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 10:39:07 +0100

As part of the Alzheimer's Society's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Carers Group, Brian Baylis has discovered that residential care for this sector of society can cause many problems. Here he talks from personal experience about Michael, a close friend who suffered from Alzheimer's for many years.

Patzi finds her voice after 50

Fri, 22 Jun 2007 12:08:37 +0100

Patzi Gooch's story is a bit like a modern day fairy tale - a woman who, aged 50, was suddenly transformed from wife, mother and grandmother into a popular public singer.

The reality of life as an Alzheimer’s carer

Sat, 16 Jun 2007 21:31:59 +0100

In 1990 my lovely and clever wife Mavis started asking me what day it was several times a day and by 2000 she was a complete nut-case with Alzheimer's.

My evacuee memories

Tue, 15 May 2007 12:08:06 +0100

At aged seven, I was told that I would be going away on "holiday" without my Mum, but with all the school children one day in September 1939. I was already packed for my "holiday": PJs, a change of undies, soap and flannel, toothbrush, slippers and one toy - my teddy, dressed in a siren-suit - all in a brown paper carrier bag.

From doctor to patient - one man's journey with MS

Mon, 12 Mar 2007 13:42:07 +0000

Sandy Burnfield, who was diagnosed with symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) at the tender age of 20. Now 62, speaks to the Mature Times about his dedicated work with the MS Trust, his involvement with the film "Duet For One", Buddhist psychology… and Paso Fino horses.

From motorway to quadruple by-pass

Thu, 01 Feb 2007 14:04:37 +0000

By Roy Clark

I suppose there isn’t really an ideal place to have a heart attack. A convenient place? Well yes, in a hospital I suppose. But, wherever it happens, it can be quite traumatic for relatives, especially one’s wife. For the patient? Well, particularly in my case, I felt oddly detached and I simply laid back and hoped for the best.

My heart attack happened at a most inconvenient time and in a most inconvenient place. I was in a tent halfway up a hillside in a fairly remote region of the Pyrenees in the south of France. It was around 4am in the morning.

Communication with words and love

Thu, 28 Dec 2006 09:46:48 +0000

My first grandchild, Zak was born in July 1996, when I was 65. I decided that I would keep a diary for him, writing a short paragraph each time we met until he reached the age of 5. After that I assumed he would retain memories of his own, but from 0 – 5 he would not recall the landmarks of his young life.

Hungary recalled

Sun, 17 Dec 2006 12:40:46 +0000

In response to Marika Cseh’s November article on leaving Hungary during the 1956 uprising brought back memories of receiving them in their thousands as they poured into Britain. I well remember the frantic efforts to provide them with accommodation high on the Cotswolds above Stroud, in the empty landmark known as Rodborough “Fort”.

The strange affair of the founder of homeopathy

Sun, 10 Dec 2006 12:43:32 +0000

Would homeopathy have ever been introduced to the world had it not been for a strange and tragic tale of love? Dr Harold Selcon unravels one of the oddest stories in medical history.

Goodbye, old friend

Fri, 08 Dec 2006 10:49:00 +0000

We had been expecting the call; my stomach tightened. “This is Dr Scott, I’ve finished with Tom. You may come as soon as you like.” His tone was ominous, this was it. My wife and I went tight-lipped to the car. Mature Times reader John Staddon shares his fondest memories of his dog.