I have been working at writing my memoir for several years now and have attended several courses with the Arvon Foundation and The Guardian/UEA to try to improve my skills. My aim is to tell the story of the impact of three Distaval tablets on my whole family, particularly my parents. Whilst pulling in the […]
Author: Ruth
Conferring – a Two-Way Process: Reflections on the 2018 Thalidomide Society Conference
By Brian Payne, Trustee of the Thalidomide Society. In a previous life I was a conference organiser. These were mainly conferences about the early internet and other communications technologies – indeed my first, over 30 years ago, was on mobile phones. I was the proud user of one of those ‘bricks’… not much like the iPhone. […]
Taking Control of the Narrative
A review of Martin Johnson’s book, The Thalidomide Catastrophe by Geoff Adams-Spink (Chair of the Thalidomide Society) This is our story; it’s the story that we all know bits of, the story that sometimes gets exaggerated, muddled, or confused in the telling and retelling; it’s the story that we want others to read after we […]
Thalidomide Society trustee Kath West on school governance
By Kath West, Trustee of the Thalidomide Society and thalidomide survivor. I gave up working for health reasons when our boys were still at infants and junior school. My back was very bad at the time and I found it difficult getting out and about. Once my back problem started improving I was left […]
Thalidomide Society members make a huge difference to a Cambodian teenager
Srey Hang is a 15-year old girl living with her extended family in a typical Cambodian house on stilts, 10kms from the Thai border. She was born with extremely shortened arms, no hands or fingers and an absence of lower limbs, making her dependent upon her family for washing and hygiene, feeding and general mobility. […]
Buddhism and Me
By Stewart Lee, thalidomide survivor and current Vice Chair of the Thalidomide Society Those who know me personally will know that my life has been touched by Buddhism. I thought I would take this opportunity to tell you about it and how it has changed my outlook, how I regard and […]
Confessions of an Exhibitionist
By Geoff Adams-Spink I’d never really considered myself an exhibitionist – certainly not in the dirty mac sense in any case. Perhaps though my behaviour over the years tells another story. When Kathryn Rennie did the Thalidomide at Fifty Exhibition a decade ago, she photographed me naked from almost every angle because her original plan […]
Dr Turner’s Dilemma: Reflections of a Thalidomide Survivor and a Doctor’s Wife
By Catherine Diwaker I have read, and loved, all of Jennifer Worth’s books, my favourite actually being ‘In the Midst of Life.’ So when ‘Call The Midwife’ was televised it became our family’s regular Sunday evening viewing. A drama that my husband, daughters and I could watch and enjoy together. We learnt from Sister Julienne’s wisdom, […]
Geoff Adams-Spink interviews Society patron, Sir Harold Evans
Just prior to the Society’s last AGM, our Vice Chair, Geoff Adams-Spink interviewed our patron, Sir Harold Evans at his club in London. The interview can be viewed here:
To Remember is to Care – Thalidomide Memorial
On 30 June, 2016 a ceremony was held in Cathays Park in Cardiff to celebrate the unveiling of the Thalidomide Memorial. The service was held in the presence of HM Lord Lieutenant of South Glamorgan Dr Peter Beck. After the introductory speech by Rosaleen Moriarty-Simmonds, Stephen Simmonds explained the significance of the Monument. This was followed with […]