(no subject)

[pensnest]

Firstly, thank you to everyone who commented to my last post - it does help!

FIL is home now, we collected him at lunchtime today. He is, I think, a little duller at the edges than he was before the stroke, but he can walk quite well (we took him for a respectable walk around the hospital yesterday) and he's keen to get back to his normal level of exercise and looking after himself. Though I will be offering him lunch more frequently than hitherto, to keep an eye on him. All in all, I think he has made a very good recovery. We're looking into things like an alarm pendant in case he has a fall while we are out (or indeed, if we're in the house and don't notice, I guess).



My Saturday excursion to the pro-choice rally was well worth doing, I think. There was a surprisingly large 'March for Life' which culminated in Parliament Square, so the group I went with was set up with signs and chants etc to protest them as they walked past us into the square. We had some brief but rousing speeches from a succession of speakers before the March arrived, and then practised chanting! Some women who were just passing actually decided to join us, I know this for sure because I was stood next to a couple of them. Extraordinary number of chaps with cameras taking pictures of every.single.sign and the person with it, and nobody at all asked anyone's permission to publish said picture anywhere. I think some of them were 'our team' and some of them were definitely not. Tried to smile and look like a normal person, anyway.

There were a few people from the MfL who obviously wanted to convince some of our lot of the rightness of their cause, and one or two of our lot who were ready to fall for it and have an argument, but by and large the organisers kept things well under control. I hardly think that the middle of Parliament Square on a very sunny day, with traffic all around, people *everywhere*, an amplified speech and a bunch of chanting, is a good place to have an intelligent argument on the merits of one's point of view—though inevitably my night's sleep was delayed by the need for me to convince the MfLer in my head that she was wrong, wrong, wrong.

Glad I went, anyway.

So I headed back over to Stratford—obligingly the Jubilee line joins Westminster and Stratford, a thing I had not realised on the outward journey. I wandered around the Olympic Park for a bit, and then met up with ephemera for iced coffee/tea and a natter before I went to get my bus and she went home.

Comments

[turlough]

It's good to hear the FiL is doing so much better. Something like an alarm pendant sounds like it would be a good idea. If only for everyone's peace of mind.

Yay for a good rally!

[pensnest]

I suspect it'll be hard to keep the thing on his wrist, especially after the first month when - in theory and I very much hope not in practice - he will be allowed to drive again.

[spikedluv]

I'm glad your F-i-L is doing better. My aunt has a 'life alert' panic thingy. She's only had to use it once, I think, but it's nice for peace of mind.

I'm glad the rally went well!

[pensnest]

I think our main struggle is going to be keeping the alarm thing on FIL's wrist, but it's definitely good for our peace of mind. Not sure about his!

[spikedluv]

My aunt wears hers around her neck. It probably will take some getting used to, more the dependency than anything else. Good luck!

[ephemera]

Really glad to hear that your FIL is back home and doing better.

Was fab to see you and, hurray for your taking part in the protest!

[pensnest]

Yes, likewise! I'm glad I had a go, it was surprisingly energising. And gave me extre Ephemera time as an added bonus!

[frausorge]

That's good news that he's able to walk so well.

And good for you for speaking out!

[pensnest]

Thanks!

The fight isn't as urgent here as in other places, but it's still worth fighting.

[turps]

I'm glad to read your FiL is doing better.

[pensnest]

Thanks - yes, he is in remarkably good form for someone who had a stroke less than two weeks ago.

[chalcopyrite]

I am glad to hear your FIL is doing better. I think an alarm pendant is a good idea -- it was a relief to us when my grandmother (living alone) got one, though there was a conversation about "Let the Designated Emergency Contact know *before* you go test whether the button works from the far corner of the garden!

Thank you for fighting the good fight. One of the best things they told us in canvassing training was not to give the anti-choicers any free airtime, even in your head. They're wrong, but you'll never convince the dedicated ones, so take a deep breath and let it go.

[pensnest]

Yeah, the only thing the dedicated ones want to do is convince *you*, and since they won't, the whole thing is a waste of time. Definitely not worth my headspace!

I think the real struggle will be making sure FIL actually wears the thing.