PinnedPublished inHuman Parts‘The Adopted’: how the Dutch rallied to honour their liberators after WWIIThousands of American soldiers died liberating the Netherlands from Nazi Germany. After the war, the Dutch started adopting their graves…Sep 13, 202492323Sep 13, 202492323
PinnedPublished inHuman PartsWhatever Happens, Grief Will Have Her WayShaken by her sudden death I took a camera into mum’s house to tell her story, my way. But grief had other plans.Mar 21, 20241K14Mar 21, 20241K14
PinnedPublished inHuman PartsMy Accidental Britpop MumAfter mum’s sudden death I fell into a hermetically sealed ’90s music bubble. And now it’s time to leave.Nov 10, 202276910Nov 10, 202276910
‘The Adopted’: I visited a WW2 soldier’s home in Michigan to see what he sacrificedAt his home in Lansing, his family shared the remarkable bond they have forged with the Dutch who adopted his grave.4d ago1884d ago188
AfterI saw the house before I heard the birds, standing, head bowed in a Rutland field, hopelessly unaware, but knowing just enough: she…Jan 221Jan 221
Published inHuman Parts‘After’: a 9-minute documentary that tried to kill meWe don’t talk about grief properly. And it’s only when I turned the camera on that I started to understand why.Oct 18, 2024521Oct 18, 2024521
Vale! Jack the BackDr.John O’Brien, or dad, was the world’s first full-time spinal surgeon. He left Sydney on the P&O Himalaya in 1963 and never returned…May 13, 20241331May 13, 20241331
Published inLong COVID ConnectionDon’t forget about the ME/CFS, Long Covid carers. We need help.Acceptance is a big part of the role for new carers. But no one told me I’d be trapped in a time loop explaining this disease to a society…Jul 6, 20235819Jul 6, 20235819
Published inLong COVID ConnectionME/CFS: ‘You explain to people what it is, or you fight people about what it isn’t’As advocates your job is to keep on talking, keep on posting and hope that one day things will change.Dec 7, 20221391Dec 7, 20221391
The last migrant workerMigrant worker abuse is global, horrific and systemic. But we still only view their lives as numbers or props in a 2-minute brand video.Nov 17, 20221051Nov 17, 20221051
Marjolein vs. The MangroveIn a three-year battle with the Dutch government’s UWV for ongoing disability support, it’s clear we’re not supposed to win.Sep 6, 20221286Sep 6, 20221286
Published inLong COVID ConnectionME/CFS: When I sold my wife’s bike I said ‘goodbye’ to a healthy life, for nowIt’s a win for the disease. But to the former skiers, climbers, campers and weightlifters: I salute you all.May 6, 2022393May 6, 2022393
Seve Ballesteros: fighting back pain, he was king of the dartboardAhead of The Open in 1996 the Spanish golf icon made a low-key visit to a spinal specialist in London. And he had one additional request.Jul 15, 2021362Jul 15, 2021362
Leven met ME in de mallemolen van het Nederlandse “sociale” systeemDit systeem faalt niet, het is zorgvuldig ontworpen om je van je waardigheid te ontdoen.Jun 15, 2021212Jun 15, 2021212
Life with ME on the Dutch benefits hamster wheelThis system is not failing. It is carefully designed to strip you of your dignityJun 15, 202186Jun 15, 202186
The Girl in the Room UpstairsI’ll tell this story only once, although it’s hardly rare, About the girl who lost a life but lives in the room upstairs.Jun 10, 20213Jun 10, 20213
The naughty angelThis is an edited version of the eulogy I wrote for you. Rhoda read it at Kilmory Church on the Isle of Arran in Scotland on November 23…Nov 10, 202056Nov 10, 202056
Why did it take a pandemic to clap?Our expectations of healthcare are set so ludicrously high that we have casually overlooked its most important resource: people.Apr 13, 20205Apr 13, 20205
Lockdown: Day #001A week is a long time in pandemics. I booked an escape room for my son’s birthday last week. Yesterday we cancelled it.Mar 16, 20209Mar 16, 20209
Making film stars out of Singapore’s domestic workersThe shoestring budget film Remittance depicts the hardship of life in Singapore through its ensemble cast of real life domestic workers…Apr 1, 201673Apr 1, 201673