We should honour Barbara’s last wish
aS THE nation mourns the loss of Barbara Windsor, a true national treasure, one of her on-screen sons, Ross Kemp, aka Grant Mitchell in EastEnders, revealed the heartbreaking FaceTime call they had a few weeks before her sad passing. He believes that Dame Barbara’s dying wish was for more money to be spent on the fight against dementia. In the years she battled this terrible illness, she became a champion for her fellow sufferers. She wanted the condition to be treated as a medical condition, not a social care issue. She had so much love around her during her final years, but too many others with dementia do not have that support in their dark days. Dementia once seemed to affect only the elderly, but more and more young people are being diagnosed. It is a ticking time-bomb that could affect any one of us at any time in our lives. My sympathies go to Barbara’s family, especially her husband Scott Mitchell. She has been missed greatly already and will be for years to come.
ASHlEY SMITH, March, Cambs.
IN aLL the articles relating to dementia in sport, most attention is focused on football. There is hardly a word condemning boxing. This sport is castigated by neurological consultants worldwide. There is pressure from medical experts to ban boxing in the U.S. and Canada. The British Medical association has campaigned for a ban since the 1980s. Years ago, when I worked in a factory, a colleague told me he was representing the North-West in a boxing tournament in London against 15 others. He said it would be his last bout, win or lose. I asked why and he told me his uncle, who ran a gym, had taken him to a country manor where room after room of former boxers with dementia were being cared for. My friend got to the boxing final, but lost on points. Though pestered by promoters, he never fought again and went back to driving a forklift truck. He said: ‘The aim of boxing is to damage your opponent’s brain for a knockout and they are not damaging mine.’ a clever lad.
BERNARD PARKINSON, Bolton, lancs.