Well with only 20 days to go until the launch of The ‘D’ Word I think a sense of mild panic might be the best way to describe things around here. Making the decision to start an internet radio show dedicated to talking about dementia is one thing actually coming up with the goods is another! The other thing I’m finding is that starting out in radio only 11 years after England won the World Cup (I’ll leave you to work that one out) its amazing how things have changed in all aspects. My first look at the studio the show will be broadcast from had me searching for the CD players (yes even I’d realised there were no longer record decks!) only to be confronted with three screens and a lot of whirring computer technology. Thankfully the robot that churns out the music can be tamed and I have been given the nod to do some of what these days will go down as old school radio. Although to be honest I think that really is a thing of the past. Instead of trundling round a heaveyweight Uher reel to reel for interviews now its a Macbook and my new Blue Snowball microphone. Plug it in flash up Apple’s Garageband on the screen and you’re all set. It certainly saves on the aching shoulders and hours with an editing block and the dreaded chinagraph pencil!

With any new project particularly one that hasn’t really been tried before there’s always a bit of self doubt that creeps in. Am I on the right lines, what if nobody listens, why aren’t more people following us on Twitter (@Radiotdw if you haven’t already). The closer you get sometimes the louder the doubts get. Yesterday though I met two people who demonstrated exactly why I’ve set out on this project. Interviewing David from Care UK and Tess from Friends Forever I was knocked out by their passion to talk about dementia. Having spent a fair bit of time interviewing football managers it can sometimes be like swimming through treacle, they know they have to talk but don’t want to give much away, you know they won’t answer anything remotely difficult. There are exceptions but not many in my experience. Yesterday though opened a new door for me sitting chatting with two people who were grateful that someone was showing an interest and really wanted to get their message out there. You’ll be able to hear both of our chats (I’ve always thought the term interview is far too formal) in the weeks to come and form your own opinions. I’ve already arranged future chats with Dementia Adventure and Alzheimer’s Society CEO Jeremy Hughes and been invited to talk at the next Dementia Action Alliance here in Hertfordshire which is pretty exciting.

The other big difference between radio now and in the past is the influence of social media so a fair bit of time has been taken up establishing ourselves on Twitter, getting a Facebook page (pop over and give us a like) and thinking of a good podcasting platform. I’m still not sure about the latter although I have one in mind which will hopefully do the job.

I often scoffed at former colleagues who said after taking early retirement “I don’t know how I had the time to go to work” but now I know exactly what they meant! The key though is finding something you enjoy and so far setting up Radiotdw might be hard work but I’m loving every minute of it!

Pete

PS I’m always looking for people to chat with about every aspect of dementia so if you fancy giving it a go drop me an e-mail to tdwradio@gmail.com

Whilst my involvement with Dementia only goes back a couple of years I would still be extremely rich if I got a pound for everyone who has asked me; “Whats the difference between Alzheimers and Dementia?” As they do with many things the press regularly use both words in their descriptions and I’m not surprised people become confused. The last time I was questioned on the subject I was fortunate that there was a vacuum cleaner in the room. No I wasn’t about to change the conversation and do a bit of cleaning, but it was an appropriate prop for a quick explanation. Dementia is an umbrella term, as is vacuum cleaner, but because it was one of the first models a lot of people generically call all cleaners Hoovers. In much the same way because it is the most common form of dementia many people use Alzheimers as the umbrella term instead of a description of a specific type of dementia. Language always changes over time and the arrival of the Dyson this century has slightly confused things but I think you get where I’m coming from.

Vacuum cleaners or not a recent experience tells me that whatever the description we need to be a lot smarter in dealing with people living with dementia. A recent hospital visit with a relative living with Alzheimer’s resulted in having to inform seven seperate members of staff about her condition, while she became increasingly frustrated by the number of different people firing questions at her. The situation was made even worse by the fact a very robust Dementia Protocol was clearly being displayed on the wall the only problem appearing to be that nobody had read it. Its hard not to think that in a world obsessed with finance its actually the little things that cost nothing that can make the greatest impact on wellbeing.

Welcome to the new Radio TDW Blog I’m hoping to use this and our Twitter account to work alongside the radio show on No Barriers Radio. We’ll be starting to broadcast in April on Wednesday’s from 1-3pm UK time and on Monday (11th March) we’ll be able to reveal our start date. Can’t wait to get going!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton