It's the final countdown!

Hiya folks,

It's been a quiet couple of weeks on the blog, but I'll tell you, it's been a busy fortnight for me! I've got loads to talk about, so you might want to fix yourself a cup of tea now...

First things first - I'll be handing in my letters to the parliament on Thursday 10th November. There'll be a display of the letters for MSPs, they'll be shown a wee film about the tour and I'll be talking about everything that's happened over the past few months. I'll have some other carers with me: people who've written letters about what it's like to look after someone with dementia. A few of the folks from Alzheimer Scotland will be there as well. But the main part is that I'll be handing all the letters and emails over to Nicola Sturgeon, Deputy First Minister. The words, opinions and experiences of carers in Scotland will reach the people who need to read them. The whole shindig is being hosted by my local MSP, Johann Lamont and there's been lots of help from Irene Oldfather too.

In the meantime, I'll be at the Evening Times Community Champion Awards this Thursday night. I was very kindly nominated by Stuart Horsburgh at Strathclyde Police (who helped so much with the start of my tour in Glasgow back in June) and somehow I made it onto the shortlist! It feels a bit strange, if I'm honest - I think every carer's a champion. But if it generates more publicity and gets more letters in, then it's a good thing.

You might have seen me on the telly or heard me on the wireless last Wednesday. I was on BBC Radio Scotland in the morning, then BBC Reporting Scotland that night talking about poverty and how it affects carers. Given the last couple of winters we've had, it's clear to me how fuel costs affect anyone caring for someone with dementia: it's a lot of money that most of us just can't afford. I'd like to thank the Princess Royal Trust for Carers for their involvement in that coverage.

There you have it, Tommy on Tour is back at marching pace again! You've got until Thursday 10th November to send your letters and emails in. I'll make sure that every one of them is handed into the parliament.

Cheers,

Tommy