AND FINALLY

Memories we must cherish . ..

WRITERS are often asked to contribute to charity books. I’ve told embarrassing anecdotes, written a story and recipes, and since the cause is always good I never mind.

Jackie McGregor’s request was extra special though. Next week is Dementia Awareness week and the book Jackie has edited is being published to coincide with that, in aid of the Alzheimer’s Society. Here’s what she wrote to me:

‘The House That Built Me (published by Accent Press) is a collection of well-known people’s memories of their childhood homes.

‘It is also the story of my life as a carer. I had the idea when a man came to my door shortly after my father’s death. He had lived in my house from 1944 to 1966 and he had come back to N. Ireland after living in New Zealand for many years to attend his mother’s funeral. I have lived in the house since I was born in 1966 — my whole life spent under the one roof.

‘That visit started a chain of thought about how much our childhood home can mean to us, resulting in the book! The sad thing is, he doesn’t know his visit created the idea. All I know is his name was Mr Moffat and he lives in New Zealand.

‘I was a carer for my parents, who had Alzheimer’s. My life seems to have revolved around the disease, so this means a lot.’

What a brilliant idea — to get people’s memories of their homes. I found myself recalling a hot water bottle shaped like a teddy bear and the chute our rubbish went down (on the estate called The Green, in Liverpool) and I made myself cry!

There are wonderful memories from Lorraine Kelly, Fearne Cotton, Cherie Blair, Jo Brand, Bill Oddie, Shane Richie, Neil Sedaka, Nicholas Parsons, Jo Wood, Alan Titchmarsh and Felicity Kendal, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Nigel Havers and many more.

It’s a lovely bedside book and a touching reminder that for those with dementia, the biggest theft is memory.

Bel answers readers’ questions on emotional and relationship problems each week. Write to Bel Mooney, Scottish Daily Mail, 20 Waterloo Street, Glasgow G2 6DB or e-mail bel.mooney@dailymail.co.uk. A pseudonym will be used if you wish. Bel reads all letters but regrets she cannot enter into personal correspondence.