The Blog
Read about Sonia and her mum’s hilarious antics, where she tells personal stories and highlights the issues of growing up with a mentally ill parent.
Look write
Mum was always writing strange things in odd places as dementia kicked in. Her new coat had all the names of her carers written upside down on the front which puzzled me for a while until I realised she was writing the names so that she could see them while she...
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Tickets and Brick-its
Mum - "Hello Handsome Station Master, my precious angel just wants a breath of fresh air before getting back on the train." Me - (in my head) "No I don't". Then (smiling at station master to stop the inevitable Mum meltdown) "Just for a little while." Station Master...
read moreA mother brick in the wall
What does your name say about you? I've had the polite "could you spell that please?" and the insulting "Blimey - did you ever think of changing it?" Today I found the true meaning of "it's got your name on it" when I saw my mum's name on a brick in a wall. Not...
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A mother brick in the wall
What does your name say about you? I've had the polite "could you spell that please?" and the insulting "Blimey - did you ever think of changing it?" Today I found the true meaning of "it's got your name on it" when I saw my mum's name on a brick in a wall. Not...
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Temple Tantrums
Now that the Christmas decorations are coming down and the New Year is well and truly on its way I'm wondering what 2019 will bring and how it will feel without my beloved Mum. I know she'd be urging me to write our story, get more sleep, turn out the un-necessary...
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Driving home at Christmas
If you've never had to yank the handbrake from the passenger's seat whilst steering away from a Jaguar on a roundabout and sounding the horn, you've never lived. We did, luckily. Mum was having driving lessons in the 90s and I'd offered to take her out for a quiet...
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Surprise, surprise
I love surprises. Some people hate them and I often wonder why. I'm still coming down from a week of astounding surprises that have left me, uncharacteristically, speechless. My precious mum's funeral was last Thursday (12th November) and the first thing to share...
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What would Mum say?
Buzzing traffic noise and a softly snoring dog woke me this morning and Mum's voice was saying "it's so beautifully sunny, get out there and enjoy it. Do you know that Bognor is the sunniest place in England?". She also told me that she was peaceful and that tears are...
read moreTell your story!
My precious mum, Margaret Beldom, passed away peacefully on 12th November. She loved hearing all the stories that people shared about their own lives with people with mental health issues. A new conversation is starting, and it’s extraordinary. Please read “Surprise, surprise” and share some stories of your own.