Death by Dementia

You have two extremely active individuals, mid-60s, looking to many more years of future travel, boating, loyal companionship and retirement. How things can change! Not feeling well in one instance, forgetting what one did with the car keys in the other.

A routine unconcerned visit to the GP, subsequent referral to a specialist and in 48 hours your life is in turmoil.

“You have dementia Mrs Mclean, it’s in the early stages and in your case the CT scans have identified Alzheimer’s. No, there is presently no cure.”

We then roll the dice once more. “You have a carcinoid tumour Mr Mclean. Its metastatic and barely noticeable. However, we have made an appointment for you to see a leading professor of oncology who may put you on trial for a new form of tumour suppressant.”

It’s the two words that everyone fears dementia and cancer.

This, therefore, is a deadly personal journey dealing with the many and varied implications of dementia. In this instance it meant caring for my best friend, confidant, advisor, lover and wife of 50 years, whilst fighting my own diagnosis.

Misdiagnosed, undiagnosed, misunderstood and often denied, this killer with no conscience, now mainstream, leaves but an empty shell as a memory.

If you know anyone with dementia, have been diagnosed in the early stages of dementia or if you are caring for a person with dementia, then you should definitely read this story of love, loyalty, passion and patience. A tale of never-ending belief in the future.

Deep Deceit

Andy Bonner, an ex-Special Forces soldier, is struggling in the civilian world after a dangerous life on the edge. Consequently, he loses his boring office job with a bang after a very steamy encounter with his superior. Along with a younger colleague and friend, Paul Brown, he embarks on a new venture, salvaging cargoes from shipwrecks and diving for lobsters off a popular east coast resort.

Two young unattached men, they relish in the abundance of female holiday makers. But the witty camaraderie and carefree life they are enjoying abruptly ends when they find a downed plane and discover evidence of a sinister plot implicating government, cabinet ministers and the PM himself. Brown is picked up and tortured in an attempt to repossess the damming documents. Bonner escapes to London in a last-ditch attempt to expose the plot and save his friend. On the run from the security services he once worked alongside, he has to use every trick in the book and more to survive. On a near impossible quest, Bonner learns that deep deceit is all around him in the form of venal civil servants and greedy corrupt politicians. However, when all seems hopelessly lost, help comes from a most unexpected source… and heads roll.

Democracy UK

The reader is asked to consider our democracy as it is today and whether increasing our level of representation in Parliament using a system of total voting will unite society and improve our governance. 

Having made the consideration the reader is then plunged into the ‘what could be,’ an array of thoughts, practises, and procedures that will bring society’s needs closer to governance.

Statistical data is set to a minimum so as not to divert the reader from the objective of making people think about what they have and then what they could have.

Dinner with the Founding Fathers

Few Australians have any awareness of how their nation was established on 1 January 1901 when six self-governing British colonies joined together as one nation.

It was achieved after a dozen years of superb negotiations in which Federation conventions drafted and agreed on a splendid constitution which was approved by six colonial parliaments, six referendums in which ordinary Australians had their say, negotiations in London to have the British parliament gave its approval and finally gain the agreement of a difficult Queen Victoria who wanted the six colonies to become counties of England.

Above all, it was achieved without violence, unlike their counterparts in USA.

Everald Compton has now written a vivid account of it all as he creates a dinner held ten years after Federation in which the founding fathers relive the great political and legal battles they fought and the huge parochial attitudes they overcame to create a nation.

It is one of those books which makes you stay awake to turn the
next page.

More importantly, it will get you thinking about the changes that are needed to the Constitution 120 years after Federation to make it relevant to a hugely different and rapidly changing world.

Disability & Me

“Never give up, raise your voice, so it’s heard and if you want something, go and get it. Define your own odds. And remember – “it’s not how long it takes you to get there – it’s about getting there in the end!””

Tyler’s Story is one of strength and resilience. Diagnosed at a young age with dyscalculia, dyslexia and hard of hearing, she faced bullies and unsupportive learning environments.

When she started work, despite all her achievements, people continued to try and bring her down. However, Tyler has come through the other side stronger than ever. Whatever life throws at her, she prevails, and her story will make you think twice about putting her in a box.

Dizzy's Diary

Dizzy is a Romanian street dog who was rescued and brought to the UK for a better life, a life which is very new and full of things she is initially very scared of. First she has to learn her name, and the routines, and then, bribed by sprats she begins to learn to trust and finally to play. It is a funny, sad and utterly bewildering tale of readjustment. She is supported, or not, by Candy the resident sable border collie who can be as confused and otherwise as she is; as one dog improves the other gets naughty, and vice versa. She has to come to terms with an apparently endless stream of friends and family who react to her in different ways, and cause her even more confusion. When Dizzy dies, her owner is inundated by sympathy letters which show what an impression she had made on the local community.

Do You Want the Shortcut or the Scenic Route?

Lucky or unlucky? – You decide!

This engaging book chronicles the true-life adventures, and misadventures, experienced by the author and his wife during their global travels that sometimes did not go to plan!

Readers will be entertained by a spectrum of stories including a rendezvous with an amorous Frenchman, a few scary moments in the presence of wild beasts, general holiday mishaps, hell raising motor journeys as well as floating holiday adventures, to name but a few. This page turning travel memoir will pull your emotions in all directions from ‘hysterics’ to ‘shock’.

The author strives to provide an accurate depiction of the events and the fascinating people the dynamic duo met along the way. All information is as accurate as possible and as such is based upon meticulous notes taken at the various times.

Doctor in the World

Doctor in the World opens with personal experiences of the socialist NHS in England and Wales; in developing countries in Central America, Africa and East Asia; Medicare insurance schemes in Canada and Australia; then back to the NHS in its hybrid public/private and internal market form.

It is an anecdotal record of medical care in many different places around the world. A country’s government has an impact on the health of its people and so geopolitical backgrounds that affect medical services have been included.

Finally, the results of WHO and OECD surveys from many countries are compared against the background of phenomenal advances in modern medicine.

The stories of world health will interest anyone involved in medical care, anywhere in the world.

Dolly Dudman - A Lady of Quality

Ida Grace Nina Dudman – known as Dolly to her family – was born when Queen Victoria was the Empress of India on 18^th December 1897 and died on Easter Sunday 1983. She was brought up like a little princess but suffered much tragedy and upheaval in her life – two world wars, the Indian independence struggle, partition and most of all her long separation from her great love although they did manage to be reunited after seventeen years apart.

Despite marrying a Muslim, she remained true to her upbringing and culture unlike many who completely lost their identity after marrying out of their own community.

She has no memorial, no gravestone, nothing. But this book is – hopefully – the assurance that she will never be forgotten.

Don't Expect a Standing Ovation

How shall I lead my life? What will bring me happiness (and can I possibly know this in advance)? Where do my ethical values, feelings and opinions come from? How do I know if I really understand something, or are my judgements always just opinions? Should I be optimistic or pessimistic about ‘human nature’ – including my own, of course? Finally, are there any ‘objective’ answers to all of this or is any answer always as good as any other?

If such questions seem important to you personally, then this book is written for you. Its focus is precisely on methods for understanding better the nature of our experience, behaving more ethically and with greater emotional awareness.

Don’t Expect a Standing Ovation is a reworking in contemporary terms of an ancient Buddhist teaching on meditation, but it is intended for readers of any ‘faith’ (or none), i.e., for anyone who is open to meditation as a possibly helpful practical response to the sense of unease arising from the questions listed above. Buddhist teachings are, therefore, introduced not as a ‘religion’ but as a combination of psychological, ethical and philosophical ideas that are nevertheless in themselves not unfamiliar.

The teaching consists of fifty-nine slogans or maxims, which taken together form a practical handbook of guidance in responding skilfully (and indeed, therefore, ‘wisely’) in our everyday interactions with others.

Don't Go Into Town, Tonto!

Born just prior to the outbreak of World War II and inspired by his hero, a Captain of a firefighting vessel, the author joined the Royal Navy at 15 years of age, purely to experience the life at sea as told by his hero and the great wide mysterious world depicted in the Encyclopaedia.

Hugh shares the rigours of the training ship “Ganges”, the excitement of his first war ship in the Mediterranean and several other drafts including being present at the Cyprus Emergency and the infamous Suez Crisis. This was also the time of his coming of age, the pain of unrequited love and the bewildering initiation by an older woman who should have known better.

Life as a merchant seaman followed, expanding his horizons even further, eventually merging with the diaspora of eager sunseekers to Australia in 1963. Worked in a copper mine in Queensland before the sea beckoned once more. Then south to Tasmania and enjoyed a different sea life as a lobster fisherman.

The author shared many unexpected encounters with colourful characters and events which taught him life lessons in an entertaining, humorous and honest manner.

A lusty account of a young recalcitrant, desperate to become a worthy human.

Don't Push Me Out

In the depths of institutional bullying, resilience and fortitude are tested. Across the globe, in myriad professions, individuals face a silent struggle that can shatter confidence, well-being, and personal relationships. Yet, amidst the silent tears and the unspoken pain, there lies a compelling tale of courage and tenacity.

A manager’s duty extends beyond just running the workforce; it’s about leading with dignity, respecting the needs of the business, and valuing every individual under their care. While managers are human and imperfect, prejudice and discrimination have no place in the workplace. Every individual should be assessed based on their worth, integrity, and capabilities, ensuring no room for regret.

As you delve into this narrative, you may find yourself questioning my endurance and wondering how I confronted the adversities thrown my way. I remain eternally grateful for the strength, determination, and blessings that guided me through both personal and professional triumphs. This is my story, unfiltered and real, shedding light on a pervasive issue while offering hope for a brighter tomorrow.