Our work with the Suffolk Safeguarding Partnership has been rewarding and instrumental in getting Peter’s message out to a whole different set of people. I’m going to mention two people (in the hope they won’t read this write up but if they do, they will just have to suck it up and take the compliment).
Some time ago we met Gail Cardy, who is heading up the dementia strategy in Suffolk. She then introduced us to Will Wright, who is part of the Adult Safeguarding Partnership. Both Gail and Will have played a huge role in supporting us and it was Will, in fact, who suggested that it would make sense for us to talk to bigger groups of people. He undertook to plan this out for us. And he delivered on this promise. He and his team/colleagues organised everything to enable Peter and me to take the stage at the Theatre Royal in Bury St Edmunds.
The personal thrill for me of ‘performing’ on the stage cannot really be articulated – not a great admission for someone who professes to be a writer. Suffice to say, I loved treading the boards with Peter who, as always, emanated his usual joie de vivre at being given yet another opportunity to share his messages.
The proceedings were opened by Anthony Douglas who plays a huge role within the Suffolk Safeguarding Partnership and who, incidentally, sits just a few blocks away from me at The Emirates.
We were also delighted that actress, Rosanna Miles, could join us. Our links with Rosanna go back a couple of years when she interviewed Peter and me for one of her excellent podcasts – The Dementia Adventure Podcast Series. Ep10 - Living, Laughing & Cycl–The Dementia Adventure – Apple Podcasts
Rosanna was more than happy to be part of this theatrical experience and for me to hear her read two passages from “Slow Puncture” in her wonderfully theatrical voice and to finish with three of Peter’s poems just about made my day!
As you can see from the photos, we delivered our talk against the backdrop of the set for ‘Allo, ‘Allo and, as Peter observed later to me, it really was a ‘good moaning…’ (Cue groans and rotten tomatoes from the audience.)
At the risk of making this sound like an Oscar speech (all that theatrical shenanigans is clearly going to my head): thank you Will, Gail, Amy and everyone else who was involved in putting this together. Thanks you to the wonderful Rosanna for giving up her time to be with us. Whilst all the world might not have been our stage, a small part in Suffolk really was!
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