A whirlwind of happiness, laughter, friendship and emotion…

Wow! What a couple of weeks it has been folks!  A whirlwind of happiness, laughter, friendship and emotion…

Happiness… I didn’t hold out much hope for a celebratory birthday despite hitting the big 50.  To tell the truth, as we are in lockdown, I was hoping it would be missed and I could remain 49 for another year.  But no, those pesky loved ones had to go and spoil it 😉 Despite my usual attire of pj’s (getting dressed has become a bit of an issue for me) I put on a dress for my birthday.  The boyf looked on in shock when he turned up!  I was really lucky as the morning of my birthday I woke to blue skies and sunshine so I was able to sit in the garden with my boys, dogs and boyf to open my pressies and cards.  And then the afternoon was spent at Neens’ house for a BBQ.  Luckily for all concerned, her husband does the cooking so I was secure in the knowledge that I wouldn’t be getting food poisoning for my birthday.  That man cooks up a mean Barbie.

Laughter… What would you think if you received a text on a Sunday morning saying ‘put on a bin bag and get a photo of yourself wearing it’?  Well, let me tell you, when I received that text from Neens, I didn’t question it.  I went and found a bin bag then had my photo taken.  So did Jane as there were explicit instructions to do it ASAP.  Now, I understand most normal folk would question this type of request but believe me, when she’s on one, it’s just not worth asking why. Fast forward 2 photos and 3 hours later and I asked where Neens photo was.  Ever been stitched up?  When I had my photo taken, I’d been sitting on the sofa having my Sunday morning coffee, I hadn’t yet had a shower much less brushed my hair.  Neens came through looking like something from Bin Mans Wives!  Her hair was coifed, her make up on, accessorised to the hilt and actual shoes.  Always leave it to Neens to have be the star of the show and us as her two (stupidly willing) side kicks.

Friendship… The week of my birthday, the three of us had dinner together at Janey’s.  Words fail me when I try to explain how lovely it was.  It had been well over 3 months since we had been in the same vicinity at the same time, let alone the same space.  Both dinner and all shenanigans were appropriately social distanced but we didn’t care.  We chatted and laughed, scoffed on the delicious ‘nibbles’ Janey provided….Just FYI, this included a TOMAHAWK steak and my very favourite dessert, Lemon Torte!  When Neens or I say nibbles, we mean a packet of Cheddars and (if you’re lucky) a whole bag of Sensations each !!!

Emotion… Well, we know that you lovely lot, love, love, LOVE Roger…but who knew the rest of the nation would fall in love with him too? As you ‘may’ be aware Neens’ story of volunteering at the care home where her beloved Daddykins Roger lives, just so that she could see him during lockdown was picked up firstly by the BBC regional news.  It doesn’t come across in the interviews but I feel its really important to say that even if Neens didn’t have Roger and even if Roger didn’t have Alzheimer’s, this is totally a Neens thing to do.  The fact that she was able to do this in the home where Roger now lives and is able to see him after each shift, is frankly, just a bonus.   Lockdown has affected everybody, some in small ways but has been hugely distressing for others.  Neens ultimate concern was that as Roger had only recently moved into the home, he would feel more lost than he does on bad days.  After the BBC picked the story up, she did an interview on

Radio 2 with Jeremy Vine.  Now I don’t know about you, but for me, I always find Jezza a little bit serious so I was blown away by the warmth of him during his interview with our girl.  Another day, another interview, this time with Sky News Breakfast, AFP News Agency then finally doing a radio interview with the lovely Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden on the Heart Breakfast show. Over the past several years, before Neens moved Roger to the home, he lived alone and refused to move closer to her as he had his own circle of friends etc and then when the Alzheimers got worse, and she bought up the subject of him moving, he became very distressed.  So armed with absolutely no knowledge she set about looking for anything she could use to help her keep him safe in his own home.  She researched her little heart out and his house became a buzz of technology that enabled her to sleep at night without unnecessary worry.  If you are in a similar situation or you would just like some advice as to what is available out there, then please do feel free to drop us a message and Neens will get back to you…that’s a promise. Finally and as always, thank you to you for continuing to support our journey and being part of our RABP family

💜dB🤘🏼 and the other two! 💪🏼👌🏼