Not a good time. LB’s 21st birthday on November 17th. Against a backdrop of global senselessness and horror. MargoJMilne posted a link to a wonderful version of Faure’s Cantique de Jean Racine yesterday. This sort of worked/distracted me for a bit.

Originally Rosie and I were going to be around on Tuesday and started to plan a ‘treat’ outing with some cracking suggestions via twitter (fab suggestions that will be squirrelled away for future enjoyment). Rich reorganised his work. It turns out Tom finishes lessons at noon that day. Will is coming home tomorrow for the week. Owen pitched up yesterday for the night, rearranged his university work and is staying till Tuesday. And the wondrous Molly and gang are coming round in the evening. Wow. We’ll muddle through with visits to the cemetery and Mansfield College to see the quilt, nosh, drink, memories and hopefully laughter.

I’m on leave tomorrow as well. After the dentist, another visit to the quilt, followed by lunch with big sis Tracey (Agent T) and our parents. It’s randomly spectacular that the quilt is in Oxford at this time and that Kevin the porter is so blinking helpful. [I think it will be on display till at least the weekend and will post the end date when it’s decided].

Several people have asked if things are pretty much sorted now the inquest is over. Here’s a brief summary of where we’re at (in no particular order):

• The coroner has written a Prevention of Future Deaths report which Sloven have 56 days to respond to.
• The Verita 2 report was published at some point in the last few weeks (tumbleweed).
• The Mazars (draft) death review has undergone and survived severe challenge from Sloven (very long story). This should be published this week some time.
• The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) continue to investigate LB’s death and should be drawing on evidence from the inquest. Of which there was plenty.
• The General Medical Council (GMC) and Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) are investigating referred staff.
• The Oxfordshire County Council maladministration/secret review shite is ongoing.
• Norman Lamb’s Green Paper – No voice unheard, no right ignored – has shamefully been buried by the government (non) response published last week. The #LBBill is an ongoing endeavour.

On a slightly separate note, Norman Lamb deserves special mention for his consistent, dedicated and passionate attention to and knowledge about ongoing (howling) gaps and worse in learning disability and mental health provision. George Julian has gone on leave making clear her/our frustrations about the delays that seem be an unremarked upon part of this inhumane process.

It also became clear after an evening with mates on Friday that there was confusion over Dr Crapshite and Dr M. They all thought Dr M was Dr Crapshite. And Mr J, her barrister, made so much about this to defend her. Blimey. No. Sorry if that got lost in translation. Dr Crapshite was the community psychiatrist who saw LB once in Jan 2013 (and, as we heard during the inquest said she wouldn’t see him as a patient post discharge because I was toxic). Dr M was the unit psychiatrist who prescribed bonjela for LB’s bitten tongue post seizure and, erm, insisted (even during the inquest) that LB wasn’t having any seizure activity. Crapshite is as crapshite does but for the sake of clarity ‘Dr Crapshite’ is a different person to Dr M on these pages.

I’ll finish this post with two magical things.

A beautiful photo of LB I’d not seen before.

And David Harling’s second animation. His first, equally spectacular work (or love), can be watched here.

Gotta keep fighting dark with light/colour. And remarkably (thank fuck) the light keeps coming.