respect for our elders

A wee blog post about how difficult it's been these last 10yrs not being treated with respect in Scotland's mental health world for my age and experience, qualifications, skills, abilities, and surviving psychosis/psychiatry.  It began quite quickly in 2008 at Scottish Recovery Network events and then continued on in DClinPsy settings by academics.  It felt like I was always up against it, particularly after Feb12 human rights abuses perpetrated upon my son in Stratheden IPCU locked seclusion room.

In 2008 aged 55 after setting up Peer Support Fife and Chrys Muirhead

Peer Support Fife

Associates it was like stepping into an alternative universe where my life experience and qualifications were as nothing.  I was continually treated as "less than" in Scotland's mental health world, DClinPsy academia since 2009 at Glasgow, and expected to do as I was told, without question, by people who weren't skilled facilitators or educators.  I'd been

Chrys Muirhead Associates

used to working in a variety of settings since 1980 and to setting up, managing and leading community projects, with all ages of people, latterly in an FE college, gaining lecturing qualifications and experience.

At the same time I've witnessed elderly female neighbours in the village where I live not being supported by Fife Social Work Services when they have become housebound or developed mental health issues after bereavement and left living alone, isolated.  Women and mothers who were physically active when I first knew them, worked all their lives, paid taxes, then left alone, at risk, family not so near at hand.  Now in Homes.  

I find this very sad, the lack of support for our elders, Mothers, Grandmothers.  Then recently I was disrespected by an old age Psychiatrist and had to raise a complaint, not just on my behalf but for the sake of others.  Wouldn't want any other elder in Cupar to go through similar.  It was most unpleasant.

Fortunately I've got over the feelings of betrayal, hurt, anger at how I was treated by DClinPsy Professors.  Expectations raised then dashed, being set up to fail.  I think they didn't have faith.  In Safe Houses for Psychosis becoming a reality.  In psychosis as a journey, transition, escape, becoming stronger because of the experience.  In people having the resources to come through.  In themselves as therapists and worthwhile companions, seeing it through to the end.  Or maybe they just didn't care.  Enough.  We're not family.

As a Mother and Grandmother I care.  

Angus & Edwin

Daniel & Edwin

Angus

me & 3 sons at sister's wedding 1999

Grandchildren 😍

is @EMPOWER_EWS App about adherence?

Tweets this morning about the Empower Project, University of Glasgow, which came to mind after seeing slides on tweets from Trinity College Dublin conference I should have been attending on Internet Interventions #ESRII2018. 

"Adherence says nothing about engagement" #ESRII2018 yes I agree https://t.co/tZrXXkfMt5

— Chrys Muirhead (@ChrysMuirhead) April 19, 2018

is @EMPOWER_EWS App about adherence?

— Chrys Muirhead (@ChrysMuirhead) April 21, 2018

is Empower Project, Chief Investigator Prof Andy Gumley, about keeping people/patients in system, on meds/drugs? #RiskofRelapse @UofGIHW @ACUVoice @OfficialUoM @OfficialNIHR @nhmrc do Carers have to believe in "lifelong mental illness"? [because some of us don't believe] https://t.co/ith077Dry2

— Chrys Muirhead (@ChrysMuirhead) April 21, 2018

"routine monitoring makes early intervention more possible and supports the prevention of relapsing psychosis" @EMPOWER_EWS but what causes relapsing psychosis? are you researching affects of neurotoxins on people who are prescribed them for psychosis/psychotic disorder? https://t.co/ObX2GZkJ0b

— Chrys Muirhead (@ChrysMuirhead) April 21, 2018

neurotoxins can cause recurring psychosis in some people, coming off them can cause psychosis @UofGIHW @ACUVoice @OfficialUoM @OfficialNIHR @nhmrc has Empower Project factored this in to their £1.5m research? I speak from personal experience of taking antipsychotics, coming off https://t.co/9HnMI6gwJQ

— Chrys Muirhead (@ChrysMuirhead) April 21, 2018

Prof Gumley has blocked me now on twitter (I'm disempowered) but I notice his tweet @EMPOWER_EWS re planning training teams; I'd be concerned about content of training if it majored on "Adherence"; I've engaged with him since 2009 via DClinPsy Glasgow; it's not been positive pic.twitter.com/rWRF9MmTIc

— Chrys Muirhead (@ChrysMuirhead) April 21, 2018

I hope that Empower Project makes their training materials transparent, publishes on their website so we can see what is being taught @UofGIHW @ACUVoice @OfficialUoM @OfficialNIHR @nhmrc for over 8yrs I engaged with Glasgow DClinPsy & never saw their teaching materials; secretive https://t.co/hSQ7UgjmhK

— Chrys Muirhead (@ChrysMuirhead) April 21, 2018

I think it's important for everyone to know what's going on @EMPOWER_EWS there's no reason to hide data, information about training, focus; #dutyofcandour @scotgov introduced 1Apr18 to encourage openness, honesty, accountabilityhttps://t.co/mLcSBmgbQ2 https://t.co/5PRKu8RiIf

— Chrys Muirhead (@ChrysMuirhead) April 21, 2018

Professors should be accountable; ivory towers of academia cannot, should not be a hiding place @UofGIHW @ACUVoice @OfficialUoM @OfficialNIHR @nhmrc #ProfJillPell Mental Health Service Users & Carers deserve the best of treatment from highly paid University staff https://t.co/nemQZW1Jef

— Chrys Muirhead (@ChrysMuirhead) April 21, 2018

#HistoryBeyondTrauma "It could be said that speaking to oneself is where literature begins"

Tweeting about History Beyond Trauma late evening 16Apr16 from Ch2.3:

#HistoryBeyondTrauma 2.3 Showing what cannot be said; 2.3.1 The Festival of the Mad Rises from the Ashes
"the dimension of the symbolic"
"How much easier life would seem if we could mechanically suppress diseases, insanities, anxieties and mood swings ..."
"Wanting to say" pic.twitter.com/3pNCFIqIzj

— Chrys Muirhead (@ChrysMuirhead) April 16, 2018

"For the Love of my Lizzie I'm Losing my Head"
"At time of persecution, the madness of 'talking to yourself when no one hears you' [Wittgenstein] has always sought refuge in literature, oral or written" https://t.co/IlUNrsWnqB

— Chrys Muirhead (@ChrysMuirhead) April 16, 2018

#HistoryBeyondTrauma "the court fools ... were paid to show one and all, including the king, what cannot be said. Risks were involved. " pic.twitter.com/sHOUNlitHc

— Chrys Muirhead (@ChrysMuirhead) April 16, 2018

"It could be said that speaking to oneself is where literature begins" pic.twitter.com/idbiRacyDm

— Chrys Muirhead (@ChrysMuirhead) April 16, 2018

"All comedians heirs of the jongleurs, know that they are balancing on the edge of catastrophe and tears. Likewise, patients in a manic state show ... the death zone that no one wants to see."
"It is in the name of the father that we must recognize ... pic.twitter.com/FWBGXydYxF

— Chrys Muirhead (@ChrysMuirhead) April 16, 2018

History Beyond Trauma

In Praise of… Comics Writer William (Willie) Patterson: @johnfreeman_DTT

'In Praise of… Comics Writer William (Willie) Patterson' by John Freeman on downthetubes.net 

Thanks to John for promoting my blog post 'in recognition of my Dad Willie Patterson; scriptwriter of Jeff Hawke; Daily Express & Titan Books' and adding more information about his 1960's comic strip writing which I didn't know about.

Here are some excerpts, additions to my post:

"Sydney Jordan is widely recognised as the creator of the critically-acclaimed “Jeff Hawke” newspaper strip first published in the Daily Express. However, it’s also generally felt that the strips written by William (Willie) Patterson through the 1960s – including those collected in the past by Titan Books (such as “Overlord” and “Wondrous Lamp”) as well as The Jeff Hawke Club and several Italian publishers – show the long-running series its best. 

Here, Willie’s daughter Chrys Muirhead pays tribute to her father, the man behind those acclaimed credits, revealing the family man behind those fondly-remembered stories.

We are grateful to her for letting us post this tribute to an author whose life has been little documented, but whose work played such a significant part in the development of a much-loved comic character worldwide…"

screenshot from downthetubes.net

"Some of father’s “Jeff Hawke” scripts have been republished twice by Titan Books. Originally working on the Children’s Encyclopedia for Amalgamated Press, according to strip creator Sydney Jordan, my Dad started as script writer with the Daily Express in 1956. Alongside his work on “Jeff Hawke” for the Express, he also wrote “Caroline Baker – Barrister at Law“, drawn by Jose Moya Ortiz.

He also wrote other stories for Fleetway Publications, including war stories, strips for Tiger and is credited as the writer of one Dan Dare story, “Mission to the Stars”, drawn by Don Harley, published in the Sunday People in 1964, collected in The Dan Dare Dossier, published by Hawk Books."

"Chrys would welcome memories of her father. Visit her blog for more about her own work and writing, most recently as a mental health writer, activist and human rights campaigner, whistleblowing about locked seclusion room abuses in Stratheden Hospital, NHS Fife, winning an Ombudsman complaint in September 2014 and a written apology from Fife Health Board"

Finally, screenshots and excerpts from downthetubes.net including new information about my Father's work which I wasn't aware of, very interesting to see it:

Jeff Hawke

Widely considered one of the most important science fiction comic strips ever published, Jeff Hawke is a benchmark in intelligent, adult-oriented storytelling and he is not your average space-hero. Focused on reasoning, diplomacy and moral virtues instead of brute force, he is frequently forced to be the ambassador – rather than the saviour – of mankind!

His universe is populated with alien species that meet humankind by accident or for commerce, but hardly ever for invasion. Willie Patterson’s subtle wit makes the strip’s plots and characters as fascinating as they are amusing, and Jordan’s highly expressive style fully captures the strangeness of the weird and wonderful aliens of Jeff’s universe!

The Jeff Hawke stories were published in the Daily Express, launching on 15th February 1955 and ending on 18th April 1974. There were a total of 69 stories, with an average of 94 daily strips in each story.

Willie Patterson began to contribute ideas for stories and co-wrote on an ad hoc basis from 1956 onwards but by 1960, he was a full-time scriptwriter for the feature, until 1969. Chrys outlines her understanding of his departure above.
Syd and Willie’s partnership developed an in-joke by creating two characters to introduce each story, taking on the shapes of Mephisto (Willie) and the Troll (Sydney).

“Jeff Hawke was a science-fiction strip designed to emphasise if not pacifism, then the most principled of restraint matched with the most rigorous of thought,” notes Colin Smith in article for Sequart in 2012. “And for all that Hawke might seem to the casual glance to be an entirely familiar fighting lead, he was actually the exact opposite to the breed. In that, he was the rarest of science-fiction types; the diplomat as hero, the peace-maker as protagonist, the man of ideals and science who really would rather rely upon his conscience and his mind before reaching for a conveniently big gun.”

The British Jeff Hawke Club began reprinting Jeff Hawke in its journal, Jeff Hawke’s Cosmos, in 2003. Each issue includes story notes on the science featured in the story, and commentary on the origins of the tales from creator Sydney Jordan. In addition to the regular magazine, several special editions have also been published.

Jeff Hawke Stories by Willie Patterson

• Sanctuary (co-writer)
Published – 1956-06-26 – 1956-10-27 Reprinted in Jeff Hawke’s Cosmos, Volume 2 Number 2
 • Unquiet Island
Published – 1956-10-29 – 1957-03-16 Reprinted in Jeff Hawke’s Cosmos,Volume 6 Number 1  
• The Castaway
Published – 1957-03-18 – 1957-10-03 Reprinted in Jeff Hawke’s Cosmos,Volume 6 Number 2  
• Poles Apart (co-writer)
Published – 1958-09-24 – 1959-03-13 Reprinted in Jeff Hawke’s Cosmos,Volume 3 Number 2
• Overlord
Published – 1960-02-10 – 1960-06-20 Reprinted in Titan Book 1, Jeff Hawke’s Cosmos,Volume 7 Number 3
• Survival
Published – 1960-06-21 – 1960-09-12 Reprinted in Titan Book 1, Jeff Hawke’s Cosmos,Volume 7 Number 1  
• Wondrous Lamp
Published – 1960-09-13 – 1961-03-11 Reprinted in Titan Book 1, Jeff Hawke’s Cosmos,Volume 6 Number 2  
• Counsel For The Defense
Published – 1961-03-13 – 1961-08-02 Reprinted in Titan Book 1, Jeff Hawke’s Cosmos,Volume 7 Number 2  
• Pastmaster
Published – 1961-08-03 – 1961-10-18 Reprinted in Titan Book 2, Jeff Hawke’s Cosmos: Lunar 10  
• Immortal Toys
Published – 1961-10-19 – 1962-04-05 Reprinted in Titan Book 2, Jeff Hawke’s Cosmos,Volume 7 Number 3
• The Ambassadors
Published – 1962-04-06 – 1962-07-13 Reprinted in Titan Book 2, Jeff Hawke’s Cosmos,Volume 7 Number 3  
• The Gamesman
Published – 1962-07-14 – 1962-09-23 Reprinted in Titan Book 2, Jeff Hawke’s Cosmos,Volume 3 Number 3  
• A Test Case
Published – 1962-09-24 – 1963-01-02 Reprinted in Titan Book 2, Jeff Hawke’s Cosmos,Volume 4 Number 1

• Find out more at www.jeffhawkeclub.com

Titan Books published two collections, firstly in 1985, plans for a third dropped due to disappointing sales. The collections were republished in 2008.

 
Jeff Hawke: Overlord
 
Author: Willie Patterson
Artist: Sydney Jordan
Cover: Brian Bolland
Publisher: Titan Books, 2008
ISBN: 9781845765972
Collects “Overlord”, “Survival”, “Wondrous Lamp” and “Counsel for the Defence”

“Willie Patterson [joins] artist Sydney Jordan for some remarkably inventive and clever tales of alien law and morality. The art’s a downright treat.” – Hipster Dad

 
Jeff Hawke: The Ambassadors
 
Author: Willie Patterson
Artist: Sydney Jordan
Cover: Brian Bolland
Publisher: Titan Books, 2008
ISBN: 9781845765989
Collects “The Ambassadors”, “Pastmaster”, “The Immortal Toys”, “The Gamesman” and “A Test Case”

“Patterson and Jordan’s solutions to the very unusual challenges are reasoned and rational, with very little violence or wild action, leading to very entertaining stories with unexpected resolutions. Jordan’s artwork is gorgeously detailed, with a believable and consistent design for the far-flung future of the 1990s.” – Hipster Dad 

The 1986 Jeff Hawke Book One 1986 featured “Overlord”, “Survival” and Wondrous Lamp and the 1987 Jeff Hawke Book Two featured “Counsel For The Defence”, “Pastmaster” and “Immortal Toys”)

There’s a complete list of “Jeff Hawke” strips including writer credits on Wikipedia

 Phantom Patrol

“Phantom Patrol” was first published in Swift, companion paper to Eagle, between the issues cover dated 3rd February – 14th July 1963. Written by Willie Patterson and drawn by Gerry Embleton, it was reprinted several times, including in WHAM! (as “Ghost Patrol”) and 2000AD and Starlord annuals.

The story told the adventures of Sergeant Joe Trimm and his platoon who discover a crashed UFO on the island of Crete in 1941. Pinned down by the Nazis, they escape by means of a time-travel device purloined from the flying saucer. With a tank, a landing craft, a handful of guns and a captured Nazi, the British infantry unit find themselves in the midst of the Trojan Wars – and a series of further bizarre adventures, joined by robot dog Fergus and future cop Cornelius Kerrigan along the way.

Sadly, this strip has never been collected, although Steve Holland did nearly manage it back in 2009, commissioning a stunning cover by Chris Weston.

Boy’s World

Launched by Odhams Press in January 1963, Willie Patterson was one of the writers for this title, alongside Harry Harrison, Michael Moorcock and Tom Tully. Artists included Frank Bellamy, Luis Bermejo, Harry Bishop, John M. Burns, Ron and his brother Gerry Embleton, Gerald Haylock, Frank Langford and Brian Lewis.

Willie’s known credits are as follows…

“What Would You Do” cover feature issues V1N1 – V1N6 + V1N10 (Jan to Mar 1963) with art by Brian Lewis, Gerry Embleton & Harry Winslade

“Mini Mystery” feature issue V1N7 (Mar 1963) with art by Harry Lindfield

“What’s In A Name / Do You Know Your Name” feature issues V1N1 – V1N6 (Jan to Mar 1963) with art by James McConnell

“John Brody” (strip) issues V1N1-V1N23 “What Is Exhibit X?” full 1st story (Jan – June 1963) with art by Colin Andrew

“Wrath Of The Gods” (strip) all issues V1N1 to V2N40 Jan 1963 to Oct 1964) with art by Ron Embleton and John M Burns

“What Is My Name?” (strip) issues V2N22 to V2N40 (May – Oct 1964)  with art by Colin Andrew

• Steve Holland has told the story of Boy’s World in the thoroughly recommended book Boy’s World – Ticket to Adventure!

 Examples of “Caroline Baker – Barrister at Law”, written by Willie Patterson, drawn by Jose Ortiz. Via Bear Alley © Daily Express

Caroline Baker, Barrister at Law

Published in the Daily Express from 1962, Steve Holland has featured a number of “Caroline Baker, Barrister at Law”, written by Willie Patterson and drawn by Jose Ortiz on Bear Alley.

“Mission to the Stars”, a Dan Dare strip written by Willie Patterson, drawn by Don Harley for the Sunday People. Via the Jeff Hawke Club

Dan Dare

Willie wrote one Dan Dare story, “Mission to the Stars”, drawn by Don Harley, published in the Sunday People in 1964, collected in The Dan Dare Dossier, published by Hawk Books.

my family are special 😍

[the same goes for other families]

I just wanted to sing the praises of my family, how special we all are, not least because 8 of us, that I know of, have survived psychosis/psychiatry and have been/are being productive in our lives.  That's something to be very proud of,  in my opinion, and I'm entitled to say what I think regardless of well paid academics taking a potshot at me because of it.  😒

So many achievements along the way: my two wee sisters at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) 1970's/80's, studying woodwind instruments (clarinet, oboe), singing, piano, after my youngest sister a boarder at St Mary's Music School, Edinburgh, funded by Perth & Kinross Social Work; my Mother coming through various psychiatric treatments (ECT, neurotoxins) working FT at Babygro factory in North Muirton, Perth on a Depixol depot injection; my Father writing Jeff Hawke sci-fi daily comic strip in the Daily Express from 1956-69, for many of these years the one in charge, directing, producing; my sons carrying on the family tradition of psychiatric engagement, music, educational achievements, working in various settings, procreative, humorous, caring, compassionate.  😊

Here is a flavour of our lives in pictures, with comments alongside (will update later):

my Mum & me with Teddy 1953 on back step of Granny's house Kingswell Terr, Perth

Notice my Mother's lovely dress and cardi, her makeup and tidy hairdo, her care of me, holding my pink Teddy, smiling for the camera. Juxtaposed with the mop against the wall next to back door which is needing a coat of paint.

me aged about 4, rumpled kilt & socks, blonde hair tied back, knitted cardi, smiling

Not sure who took this photo, probably an Auntie, flat roofed house in background probably my Granny and Grandpa's at Kingswell Terrace, Perth, maybe after we had all moved to Dunsinane Drive, Letham, Perth, into two council flats, numbers 81 and 57.

my Mum's photo, she typed Rare Birds on it, taken outside Pomarium Flats c1972

My Mother had this photo pinned on the wall at her Pomarium Flat number 70 and then it was in her possessions after she died on 19 March 1998 which I inherited.  Me with my two wee sisters before they went into foster care when my Mum had another nervous breakdown.  

my oldest 2 sons Angus on left, Edwin on right, on inlaws farm, having fun

We lived in a residential caravan on my husband's folks' farm for about 18mths before getting a council house in Rigside, Lanarkshire.  I had my first puerperal psychosis about 3mths after Angus was born, went voluntarily into Hartwoodhill psychiatric hospital to be forcibly injected with Chlorpromazine and threatened with ECT.  Fortunately I was able to take charge of my own mental health, come off the neurotoxins and make a full recovery, supported by my husband.

youngest son Daniel in 1985, I was on Chlorpromazine again, 4x100mgs

I was drugged up when this photo was taken, on neurotoxins, it felt like being in a dark tunnel with no light at the end.  This was due to the antipsychotics which depressed me.  My husband supported me in and out of hospital.  Again the neurotoxins had been forced in but by 1984 they weren't giving Mothers with puerperal psychosis ECT, or at least they didn't try to threaten me with it in Hartwoodhill.  I managed to get off the drugs within the year again and make a full recovery.

July 1998 with my 3 sons, in Cupar photographer's studio

I'm wearing my Mother's watch and butterfly necklace which was in her possessions, a gift from New Zealand, unworn, in a box.  My oldest son had recently graduated with a First in Mechanical Engineering from Abertay University, Dundee, having survived psychosis/psychiatry episode, Stratheden Hospital, including a critical incident with ECT, in 1995/6.  I supported him in/out of hospital.  1998 I also graduated, with a Postgrad Diploma in Community Education from Northern College, Dundee.

with oldest son Edwin July 1998, graduates, son 1st class Hon Mech Eng

middle sister's wedding 1999

with grandson Edinburgh Xmas time 2006 😍

grandchildren in our house 2010

to be updated ...

my response to @scotgov Draft Suicide Prevention Action Plan 2018 consultation

Link to my PDF response 

---------------------------

Link to Engagement Process of the Draft Suicide Prevention Action Plan 2018; closes 30 April 2018

in recognition of my Dad Willie Patterson; scriptwriter of Jeff Hawke; Daily Express & Titan Books

Willie Patterson, selfie c1963

My Father William Cunningham Patterson, born 22 May 1929 in Perth, Scotland, was a larger than life character from my memories as the oldest of 3 daughters, an only child for 9 years so I knew him the most of any of us girls, remembering his taking me to see CoCo the Clown when I was about 5yrs old, shaking his hand from a ringside Circus seat.  Two wonderful birthday parties when I was 5 and 12yrs old, having started Caledonian Road Primary School and Perth Academy, respectively.  My Dad was a gentleman, could be autocratic and over-protective but he wasn't a disciplinarian and I had freedom as a child, to explore, have adventures and a safe house at home to return to.

I remember him organising a community Fireworks display where we lived at Pomarium Flats, Perth, in around 1963, on the wasteground where the bus station now stands. Auntie Margaret (Dad's older sister) and Uncle, Jim Page lived on Cross St, also overlooking the wasteground.  My bedroom window looked out on this ground, my favourite tree for climbing is still there, photo taken on Good Friday this year, Queen's Hotel in background where I worked as a Chambermaid summer of 1971:

our balcony on 4th floor number 70 Pomarium 1960-70 when I lived there

My Father's Jeff Hawke scripts have been republished twice by Titan Books, in 1986/7 and 2008.  According to strip creator Sydney Jordan, my Dad started as scriptwriter with the Daily Express in 1956 while also writing other stories for Fleetway Publications, including war stories, Dan Dare, Caroline Baker Barrister at Law, originally doing Children's Encyclopedias.

testimonial written by Sydney Jordan November 1986 in Jeff Hawke Book Two

Jordan sent me copies of Jeff Hawke Book One & Two after my Father's death 9 October 1986.  My middle sister and I had attended his funeral in Kensal Green, London, after being informed about it by Sydney Jordan.  Who says in this testimonial about my Dad in Jeff Hawke Book Two: "Of the two of us, his was the unique talent and what was to come cannot detract from what had been. ... Willie was a man who saw beyond the skies to the stars".

My Mother's telling of the story about my Father's contract with the Daily Express being terminated in 1969 is that they wanted him to put more women in the script but my Dad resisted.  Mum (Anne Patterson) died on 19 March 1998 so I can't ask her for more detail however I do know that my Father never came back to Perth after 1969.  I think he feared incarceration at Murray Royal psychiatric Hospital as he'd formerly been an inpatient there, maybe around 1963/4, after walking naked down Tay St when having a complete breakdown.  Again this is a story remembered, not talked about because of the shame.

Family photos passed on to me by my Mother:

photo of my Mum & Dad taken August 1952, Perth, I was born in the September

selfie by my Dad

Mum & Dad with me 1953 at my Grandparent's house in Kingswell Terrace, Letham, Perth

my Dad holding me 1953 Kingswell Terrace

my Mum taken by my Dad in our Pomarium flat, Perth

My Father was a family man and also a science fiction writer in London, and I think the latter put stress on the former, thinking back to the 1960's and my Dad scriptwriting through the night on his electric typewriter in our 4th floor 2 bedroom Council flat, sending them off by Courier for the deadline.  My Mother tried living in London for a while in the late 1950's before my middle sister was born, I stayed with my Dad's parents, Granny and Grandpa Patterson, in their 81 Dunsinane Drive flat along from ours at 57 (we'll all moved out of Kingswell Terrace by then).  But the big city didn't suit my Mother.  So we all lived in Perth while my Dad travelled up and down to London, my younger sisters born in 1961 and 1966.  It wasn't ideal.  By 1970 the family had fractured, following another one of my Mother's nervous breakdowns and my Granny's death that July.  Social work intervened and my sisters were fostered. 

I plan to self publish a book about my Father and our family, memories, stories, photos, as a legacy to my children and grandchildren, to keep a record of our achievements.  

Recently I donated copies of the 2 Jeff Hawke books republished by Titan Books in 2008 to Fife Cultural Trust for the East Fife Mobile Library which we use in Springfield, Tarvit Terrace, on a fortnightly basis when it visits:

handing over Jeff Hawke books to June Souter in East Fife Mobile Library Springfield 27Oct17

 

My Father William Cunningham Patterson received the King's Badge in 1948, disabled as a result of war service when in the RAF briefly as an Aircraftsman, second class aged 17yrs.   

I am very proud of my parents, both of them heroes in my eyes, flawed as all of us are, but outstanding in their own ways.  I am glad to say that we have inherited their broad range of creative skills eg writing, craftswomenship, music, sporting achievements, homemaking, imaginative pursuits and an ability to resist "lifelong mental illness" and it's narrow corridors, being productive in spite of disabling drug treatment and coercive space invasion.  Thank God.

South Inch Perth

photo of me taken by my Dad c1963