18 | VIEWPOINTS
OH, MR SMITH!
A wry look at life
No socks please we’re stylish
W
OULD you Adam and Eve it! The British, I’m sure, are the only people to suffer acute social paranoia as so cleverly observed in John Cleese’s Basil in Faulty Towers. Do you remember a comedy sketch by the late Spike Milligan in which his worst fear was suffering an accident and going to hospital in dirty underwear – this being a far more humiliating and painful experience than breaking a leg, suffering a heart attack or falling off a ladder. Well something similar happened to me the other day. No, not falling off a ladder but falling down stairs and fracturing a metatarsal bone in my right foot. I thought it important to mention which foot because, although I am not David Beckham, like my right hand my right foot is more important to me than my left. Despite soaking the foot in cold water immediately after the fall it swelled and the only footwear I could fit over it was an oversized sandal. I had purchased the sandals in a sale some years ago but at least one of them now found a perfectly practical purpose. I didn’t want to offend the nursing staff by presenting a dirty foot on arrival so I wore some perfectly respectable black socks. Arrrgh. Now perhaps you realise the real source of my discomfort.
Scandals
Socks with sandals are a scandal as my wife and daughters continually tell me. I tried to arrive in the reception area of A&E unnoticed but as I flapped across the room in my oversized sandals I could feel every eye look in horror on my social faux pas. Never mind the reason for my limping across the room – what was I thinking? I expected the decorum police to arrive at any moment and escort me from the building. I was like the archetypical gauche featured in the famous series of H.E. Bateman cartoons entitled “The man who…” This time, however, it was, The patient who turned up in socks and sandals. If you’re interested, Google ‘A Cowes nightmare, the unwelcome guest’. Bateman’s ingénues were happily oblivious to their social gaffes and to the perennial onlookers who were given comically caricatured gasps of shockhorror. Unfortunately in my paranoia I was acutely aware of my sartorial offence. Nevertheless, maladroit feet apart, I was comforted by the existence of an A&E department that I could hobble into at eight in the morning and receive medical attention within two hours. The furore of the junior doctors’ dispute, concerns over spiralling NHS costs, the layer cake of management between the patient and the remedy and the financial burden of selfinflicted illnesses, did not prevent me from being quickly and efficiently X-rayed, diagnosed and treated. As I waited for my wife to collect me, I sat in reception and relaxed. Wearing only a left sandal with the right foot adequately packaged Bateman’s caricatured onlookers seem to fade into the distance. Of course, in our modern age these onlookers are likely to be invisible because it’s the unseen multitude on Social Media that are more likely to see our gaffes – a good reason why we should only self-medicate on it in small doses. Please tell us your social gaffes by writing to letters@wokinghampaper.co.uk TOM SMITH @WRYLIFEtomsmith
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THEWOKINGHAMPAPER Friday, May 20, 2016
Wokingham people Mya the dog is a real life-saver A tail about one man and his dog is sure to get your tongues wagging. SUE CORCORAN meets Mya, a pooch with a difference
A
REMARKABLE dog credited with saving her ex-guardsman owner’s life has helped pioneer new help for veterans with post traumatic stress disorder. Two-year-old Mya, a black and white collie/spaniel, has just qualified as an assistance dog. She is one of the first four-legged graduates of charity Veterans With Dogs. The charity is the UK’s first to train dogs to help British ex-servicemen and women with service-related mental health problems, including post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The story of Mya’s relationship with her owner Mark Lawrence, 55, is inspiring. Mark has pledged to help Veterans With Dogs, with his biggest challenge coming up in June: “I will tell the crowds at Hurst Show and Country Fayre how the charity has changed, and saved, my life. “It can be a real struggle to be in a crowded place. But I will have Mya with me at the show. She senses if I am tense or nervous: her company and a lick on my hand gives me confidence and courage.” Mark, Mya and Mark’s partner Heather have promoted the charity at their favourite walking spot Dinton Pastures, Hurst, collecting funds and giving out leaflets. Mark, from Tilehurst, witnessed the horror of his comrades’ loss of limbs and life when he served in the Grenadier Guards in Northern Ireland in 1978-9 and 1981-2. “Many veterans take their own lives due to PTSD. I was nearly one of them. Mya has stopped me twice,” he said. “Once I had pills and a bottle of brandy ready. She sensed how I felt and jumped onto my lap and looked at
Mya, a black and white collie/spaniel, is helping owner Mark Lawrence cope with his post traumatic stress disorder
me, as though asking: ‘What are you doing that for?’ He said his PTSD became apparent after he gave up work as a logistics manager three years ago due to a long standing back injury. He is now registered disabled. “Apparently stopping work was like taking the lid off a pressure cooker – the PTSD came out and I went downhill rapidly. I had a complete breakdown. I was suicidal and drinking a lot. I wouldn’t leave the house. “Armed forces charity SSAFA were really good. A friend had given me a 12-week-old puppy, Mya. The SSAFA area officer noticed Mya and I had a special bond, so she contacted Veterans With Dogs about her becoming an assistance dog. “They accepted us on their first course in Devon last year. We did three long weekends and lots of homework. It’s all about the bond between the dog and its handler. “She was perfect to be trained. It is unusual for someone’s own dog to
VOLUNTEER CORNER n Children’s Centres provide a wide range of services, many of which are free, that support all parents and carers, enabling them to give their child the best start in life. Children’s Centres can offer help and advice on child and family health, parenting, money and employment as they work in partnership with other organisations and professionals such as health visitors, midwives, GPs and Job Centre Plus. They also work with individuals and community groups who provide care and early education, such as childminders, preschools and playgroups. The centres also run a programme of playing and learning activities suitable for
be suitable. One weekend we were filmed for the BBC and Channel 4. Mya has just passed her assessment and is fully qualified. She and I helped pioneer the charity’s training and she is one of the first to be qualified.” People with PTSD can suffer anxiety attacks and feel they cannot cope. The dogs are trained to recognise their handler’s individual behaviour and then to provide a distraction from that. They might put their head on the handler’s knee or give a friendly lick. Mark said: “Her help means I am much better than I was.” New Year’s Eve fireworks were a terrible reminder of explosions in Northern Ireland. “I was on the floor crying, trying to block my ears. Mya was licking my face and had her head on my shoulders. She’s almost human. I call her my comfort cloth. “At night when I have a bad flashback to an incident in the Army, she jumps on me in bed and licks my face to wake me up. I’ll be covered in sweat: she sits by me in the bathroom
while I have a wash.” Mark was diagnosed with PTSD by the NHS-funded South Central Veterans Service last November and still has treatment. So far three dogs have fully qualified as assistance dogs after training with registered charity Veterans With Dogs. A further 18 are in the process of training with six at the advanced stages about to qualify. The aim is to increase their handlers’ independence and quality of life. Craig MacLellan, founder of Veterans With Dogs said: “Mark and Mya are an amazing team and we are extremely proud of the hard work they have both put in to becoming qualified and of the fantastic partnership they share. Mark is a superb ambassador of just what can be achieved through our programme.” Details are at www. veteranswithdogs.org.uk/ n Hurst Show and Country Fayre is at School Road, Hurst, RG10 0DR on June 25 and 26, from 10am to 5pm both days. Details are at www.HurstShow.uk
With Helena Badger parents and their children aged five and under. The Red Kite Children’s Centre in Shinfield is looking for volunteers to support their play and learn sessions. This role will involve; supporting Family Workers with play activities, helping set up and tidy away (could involve moving chairs and tables etc) cleaning art and craft area, interacting with parents, carers, children and babies. Volunteers will need to be a positive role model throughout the sessions and be willing to get involved with whatever is needed. Safeguarding training level 1 is essential, but this will be provided. Volunteers are needed mornings, Monday-Friday.
n Cruse Bereavement Care in is the leading national charity providing bereavement support in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. They offer support, advice and information to children, young people and adults when someone dies, and work to enhance society’s care of bereaved people. In order to support more people in the Thames Valley Berkshire area, Cruse Bereavement Care is looking to recruit an Area Chairperson. This will provide the perfect platform for you to get involved and use your wide range of skills. This role requires leadership, direction and strategic thinking. The Area Chairperson is responsible for ensuring that the Area is efficiently and
effectively managed in order to maintain the standards of service required by Cruse Bereavement Care. The Management Committee meets monthly, usually a Wednesday evening 5.30pm-7.30pm, in Bracknell. The volunteer must have Management, Leadership, Strategic thinking and Business skills and be passionate about the charity and their aims and objectives. These are just two of the roles we are recruiting for, but we have more than 100 different roles on our books. To find out about these or any other roles, call us on 0118 977 0749, email wok-vol@btconnect.com or visit www. volunteercentrewokingham.org.uk