I think my dad may be regretting encouraging me to train as an Occupational Therapist...

...he is recovering after an operation and we have written a 'to do list' and a 'fun things' list.
Every few hours we sit down and I get the pen out and tick things off. We have enjoyed ourselves and have done some bonding in the process. Although I would not want to live in Peterborough again I do regret moving away from home. It is now part of normal life for families to be separated by many miles and then to rely on institutions to do the caring.
I went to an Alzheimers Society coffee morning and was talking to Terry, an eccentric lady who used to be a dancer, she said 'everyone gets in their cars and drives off, no one knocks on the door like when I was young'. She was enjoying the buzz of the meeting and wishing she had people to talk to everyday.
Many government services are about gathering together people with similar problems whether in a support group or a day centre, when in fact if we hadnt created a society that is disconnected and looks down on people because they are mentally ill or old or disabled then we wouldnt have to herd them together for support.
In the old days (in the really olds days) you had the village idiot and although the job title left a lot to be desired the person was at least part of society, had a function and was surrounded by people.
In my village vision which I had two years ago I imagined the area of Norwich (NR3) where I live to be like a village where people would recognize each other and pass the time of day. They would shop locally and invite each other round for coffee. Part of this vision was to have the Magdalen Street Celebration. We are now working with Anna at Annas farm stores to make her shop be a focus for community gatherings.
In my vision I had imaginary friends (I know what you are thinking). They were people who I knew in the area who I wanted to be friends with. Two of them are now friends and also some others who I didnt know about.

Anyway I would love to stop and chat but I can see Dad has sat down so I better be going.....