Living in the face of death: not just a long goodbye.
This past week I have had a couple of conversations which though significantly unconnected have in my mind touched and influenced one another. One had to do with reaction to […]
Enhancing the lives of older people in our care homes
The following is based on part of an address given last Tuesday at an online conference organised by Faith in Older People and Anna Chaplaincy. To begin with I have […]
Restoring the essence: the role of social work in changing times.
Tuesday coming, the 19th of March is World Social Work Day. I have spent a lot of my life surrounded by social workers both in terms of being colleagues of […]
Being a shepherd: a reflection on the characteristics of leading.
A couple of days ago I had the very real pleasure of being invited to give a Fireside Chat to the participants in one of the Queen’s Nursing Institute Scotland […]
Hope rooted in action: a social care spring.
As I write this Scotland is enduring one of its unique weather days – torrential rain falling from a virtually cloudless blue sky, and no doubt a northerly gale will […]
Hospitality instead of hostility: a social care approach to immigration.
My late mother had many favourite quotes most of which I have forgotten – so it is good to have a sister to remind me and to continue her voice! […]
Ai and social care: towards a human rights approach.
On the 1st of February 2024, representatives of thirty organisations and individuals working in Adult Social Care met at the University of Oxford to discuss the benefits and risks of […]
Intentional kindness: the task of social care.
A couple of weeks ago I spent time in the company of someone who I only knew fleetingly but who was so passionate about the care and support of older […]
Human identity and beauty: social care’s affirmation.
I have been away in London for a couple of days of meetings and events. It’s been a week which has seen my head and mind in the space of […]
Pass on the story and create a new chapter: social care as storytelling.
This past week I finished telling one story and then started another. I find that one of the joys of being a parent is the time I spend at the […]
Being present is an act of care: the value of time.
For a long time, January has been my tidying month. A month where instinctively I feel the need to tidy cupboards and remove the nagging guilt of messy drawers and […]
Dying while waiting for care: Scotland’s shameful social care failure.
It has been an astonishingly busy week in terms of national media and much of it has centred around the injustices experienced by Post Office postmasters and mistresses and the […]
Epiphany – a day for compassionate care?
Today is the 6th January and from my time in Sunday school all those years ago I can remember it as the day (twelve after Christmas) when the three Wise […]
A year of living positively: ageing happily.
On the edge of another year, I am reminded of my late mother’s Hogmanay phrase: “Well at least I’ve made it through another year!” Such Hebridean ‘positivity’ was reflective of […]
Light shining through the cracks: the gift of social care.
I have always loved going to art galleries and museums since I was very young. Part escape, part inspiration, whatever the reason they have been places that have spoken to […]
It’s the right thing to do: the Scottish Budget and human rights
In announcing his budget for 2023 the President of the United States Joe Biden made a speech in the White House in which he said: “My dad had an expression. […]
Humanity thrives through human rights: a reflection for Human Rights Day
Seventy-Five years ago the nations of the world gathered in New York and after a massive collective effort of discussion, dialogue and debate brought about the creation and publication of […]
Grieving through words that speak.
From today until December 8th the annual Grief Awareness Week is held. It is ’ a dedicated period for individuals, organisations, and communities to come together to acknowledge and address […]
Belonging demands compassionate action.
Belonging and what it means not least for older people has been a common theme in my blogs and talks over the years and yet again it’s a subject that […]