Out for lunch

This post is for John Day, with whom I enjoyed lunch today - and about 30 others who suffer from Parkinson's Disease or are supporting volunteers. John is a reader of this blog and I promised that I would report on what was a very enjoyable event.

About a year ago, a very committed lady from Welshpool, Anne Smedley asked me, out of the blue, if I would accept an invitation to become President of the Montgomeryshire Branch of the Parkinson's Disease Society. I did not know why. Like most people, I know people who have suffered from this and other neurological conditions - but I knew next to nothing about them. I thought about whether I could be useful in any way - and decided to accept. I think I was attracted because its not a 'fashionable' charity and finds it difficult to raise funds and awareness - a bit like colorectol cancer, which is probably my main 'cause'. So today I joined the Montgomeryshire Branch's Annual Lunch. One of the striking things about Parkinson's Disease sufferers is that I have not heard any of them complain. They just seem to get on with dealing with the poor hand that has been dealt them.

Just at the moment, politics is never far away. I've just watched Nick Robinson on the BBC say he has changed his mind and now thinks that there really might be an election. It frightens me to even write this down. Today one lady told me that she intended to vote Conservative at the next election - which would probably cause her late husband to turn in his grave since it would be the first time any member of the family had ever done so! And I was sitting next to another lady who really could never vote Tory under any circumstances - but it didn't stop her giving me some good advice about what I should be doing! I have decided that if I do become an MP, I will become a champion of cause involving these neurological diseases and conditions.