Demo day

It was a murky, wet miserable day, but we turned out for our first demo since the first Iraq War, to protest against our community hospital closure. This happened with no consultation - the staff were told one day and the next, it shut. It was only built 11 years ago and now the Commissioning group has decided it is not viable. We are a very rural area, many miles from the city, and this was a valuable resource. It provided a stop gap between a major hospital stay and going home, as well as end of life care for many, including our daughter. The flexibility meant she had nursing care when needed, we could see her every day, and she could come home when she was well enough. The powers that be remained inside and refused to come out. They'd only agree to see us one at a time. So we asked our questions and had our say, Nut I think they have made up their minds to keep it closed though it is billed as a temporary measure. Fortunately we are getting help in the campaign by Alexander Armstrong, a TV celeb, whose dad was our GP.


Our evening was totally different - I wish the extra pix would work - we had food with #2 daughter at Malmaison, conveniently by her work on the Quayside, then met #3 daughter over the river in Gateshead, for a fantastic show at the Sage by the very fabulous Alan Cumming. He entertained us for over 2 hours with songs and stories - poignant, funny and a bit filthy. He's done Broadway with Liza Minelli and 7 seasons of The Good Wife, but before that we Scots remember him as the camp cabin crew in Air Scotia.

Our colds linger