Victim of the revolution
23/07/2008
Just one week after our wedding I travelled with my husband on post to the British Embassy in Tehran. It was October 1978. Some people we knew who had also got married around the same time as us had gone to St Lucia for their honeymoon, but we went to Tehran, hardly the most attractive of honeymoon destinations!
More Stories
Life after an Aneurism
"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."
'Clearing up the clutter' by Marjorie Stiling
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
The grandson I have never seen
"Dear Tom I am your other grandfather, the one you have never met. You are three years old, and although I have never met you, I love you dearly and always will. You are my flesh and blood, and always will be. We will meet one day, I am sure." Read the "blog site" that allows a grandfather to "speak to" his estranged grandson.
