Author Archives: john graham

Tommy Graham’s Blogtoons on Fruit Juice

Posted on February 19, 2012 by john graham

Since the GrumbleSmiles blog was started, we have been illustrating some of the posts with cartoons.  This post is the start of building a gallery of all the blogtoons. I’ve written a series of posts on the virtues of fruit … Continue reading →

Posted in ABOUT GRUMBLESMILES | Tagged | 1 Comment

“Living in the Past”

Posted on February 16, 2012 by john graham

A rather curious idea is being proposed in Switzerland in response to the increasing number of people with dementia.  A developer is planning to build a retro village in 1950’s style architecture and then staff it with carers disguised as gardeners, … Continue reading →

Posted in Dementia | 1 Comment

“Untold Pressure”

Posted on February 12, 2012 by john graham

An excellent article by Kate Wighton in The Daily Mail on 31st January 2012, highlighted the incidence of pressure sores in the NHS. Without any sense of irony, it was included in the section of the paper under the banner … Continue reading →

Tagged | 1 Comment

“Confused Conclusion”

Posted on February 9, 2012 by john graham

A recent study of elderly people admitted to hospital found that those affected with dementia were suffering because hospital staff have no idea how to treat them.  The study went on to suggest that hospitals should assume that all older … Continue reading →

Posted in Dementia, HEALTH | 2 Comments

“Uneconomic Prediction”

Posted on February 7, 2012 by john graham

I don’t venture into discussing economics in this blog because it’s not a subject I pretend to understand.  In these heady days of the credit crunch aftermath, the potential melt-down of the European Union and ever-present threat of an ongoing … Continue reading →

Posted in ELDERLY UK POLICY | Tagged | 4 Comments

“Southern Cross Aftermath”

Posted on February 5, 2012 by john graham

The poker game that was the story of Southern Cross ended up as “pass the parcel”.  A large group of former Southern Cross residents have been handed back to their landlord – NHP, and in turn they have entered a … Continue reading →

Posted in Nursing Homes | Tagged | 1 Comment

“Dementia Unravelled”

Posted on February 2, 2012 by john graham

Only a few days ago I was writing my last blog on dementia. (look up Dementia under TOPICS)  “Dementia Puzzle” commented on a simple activity programme for sufferers of early stage dementia and I went on to talk about the ExtraCare’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Dementia | Tagged | 4 Comments

“Move to a smaller house”

Posted on January 31, 2012 by john graham

We have just been given an object lesson in “how not to propose a new Government policy”.   Grab half an idea, claim it is an important new initiative, push it out to catch a headline at the start of a … Continue reading →

Posted in RETIREMENT HOUSING | 1 Comment

“Coke No Joke”

Posted on January 29, 2012 by john graham

End of a holiday, sitting by the pool, all books read, no English newspapers, soaking up the last of the sun’s rays before leaving for home.  Using up the last can of coke from the oversized, big enough to keep … Continue reading →

Posted in SMILES | Tagged , | 2 Comments

“Dementia Puzzle”

Posted on January 26, 2012 by john graham

How much more research do we need to tell us that the way we currently treat people with dementia is not the right way.  Common sense should tell us that if we marginalise people with dementia and leave them on … Continue reading →

Posted in Dementia | 4 Comments