Alastair Stewart: One of the great lessons I've learned is life depends on an ability to move on seamlessly
Alastair Stewart reflects on his week in the fifth instalment of his weekly diary, Living With Dementia
GB NEWS
It has been one of those weeks when we were able to spend some time supporting a couple of charities. On Tuesday we were invited to lunch by an old friend of mine, Caroline Waters, a trustee of the RSPCA and Vice President of Carers UK. She and Chloe from the Philanthropy and Celebrity supporters team invited us to the Ivy Club.
We like it there, and I used to be a member - but didn’t go enough to justify the annual fee.
Sal remembered one evening we were there and so was the Rolling Stone star Ronnie Wood who I know a bit. We waved across the room and he came over, offered his hand to Sally, and shook it before saying: “Hi, I’m ‘Ron Wood’. Sal has always since said: “Now there’s a real star!”
Back to the lunch: the RSPCA had planned a big event for many other supporters but one of the animal rights groups got wind of it, so sadly it was canceled and replaced by a number of smaller intimate events. I am sure animals across the world are not celebrating this lost fundraising and awareness raising opportunity.
I knew Caroline from her days as Head of HR at BT plc, where she was a champion of diversity and opportunity and I did a number of conferences for her with the likes of Scope, the disability charity…. I am also a patron of the Lord Mayor Treloar School and College so it mattered deeply to me….
I’d not met Chloe before, but she told us one of her twins had autism, and had a brilliant therapy dog. We talked about how therapeutic I have found all our animals, given my dementia, and we talked of our shared interest in and support of Riding for the Disabled which has always been brilliant for folk with physical disabilities. But in recent years it has also made huge strides in helping people with mental and psychological challenges too. Little is known of how or why animals have these almost mystical powers.
But the Police Service of Northern Ireland have therapy dogs to help officers with PTSD and other dogs can even sense and warn of blood pressure irregularities in their ‘human’.
Chloe said the RSPCA had recently received a large donation and were going to spend it on research into this fascinating and mutually beneficial area. I said it would also make great TV so I have put them in touch with some TV people I rate, and trust, so watch this space…….
This week also saw our annual fundraising quiz night for our local branch of Homestart, a brilliant charity that supports families with very young children who have run into difficulties. It’s run by volunteers who offer a shoulder to cry on, a helping hand, and guidance based on passion, love and experience.
Sal is a Patron and our guest this year was Rose Rawles. Her husband Bill and their sons run a local car business called Rawles Classic Cars and are global experts. They race in the UK and all over the world. Bill and Rose support many local charities and have open days.
Alastair Stewart reflects on his week in the fifth instalment of his weekly diary, Living With DementiaGB NEWSSal’s fellow Patron is our dear friend Lady Alison Wakeham, wife of Lord John Wakeham who served in all Margaret Thatcher’s Cabinets. Another great local supporter is April Chidgey the widow of the late Lord David Chidgey who won the Eastleigh election in 1994, after a vacancy arose in the most bizarre of circumstances. David, who I was very fond of, came to mind as I watched Gloria di Piero and Chris Hope’s excellent coverage of PMQs on GB News on Wednesday. Alex Brewer, the Lib Dem MP for North East Hampshire raised the protection of Chalk Streams - a passion of David’s. We have some of the finest in Hampshire…. I am glad Alex is keeping up the good work.
I am less convinced about the good work for the hospice movement and the very limited support it relies on from tax-payers. Wes Streeting promised he’d look into it. But for many, like our wonderful local children and young adults Hospice Naomi House and Jack’s Place, which we've supported for decades, the Budget is proving an existential crisis.
I fear Health Secretary Mr Streeting has the biggest “in” and “pending” trays in Whitehall. I am not optimistic. As the great Guy ODonnell pointed out in a keynote address last year to the Beacon Trust’s annual gathering on philanthropy, many services we take for granted will disappear in the near future if charity and philanthropy can’t (or won’t) step in.
On a lighter note, I’ve loved the return of Wolf Hall to our TV screens. Like the Crown it has a great cast and great direction. Speaking of the Crown , this week a friend recommended re-visiting series 2 episode 5 on Lord Altrincham, and his calls for the modernisation of the monarchy. It is a cracker and features the late Sir Robin Day in the very early days of ITN….. Robin was a qualified barrister, a parliamentary candidate and one of the best ever interviewers. He said all those jobs needed the same skill set, the ability to master a brief, prosecute it as if your life depended on it and the ability to move on to the next challenge seamlessly……
I learned a lot from Robin…
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