Part of my self-imposed treatment for my dementia is a rigid schedule in the morning. I sleep as long as I can, which is good for me, then I have a shave and a shower, and I go downstairs to have my first mug of tea.
Then, with a glass of water, it is my daily dose of six pills prescribed by my GP. Sally sorts them into a box marked with the day so I don’t muddle the pills or forget which day it is - both can be easily done if you have dementia. Then I attend to the animals other than the horses and donkeys, which Sally does.
First, I go to the ducks, we have one drake left from a previous flock, which was either raided by a fox or flew away. We have another five adopted from someone who they just became too much for.
On Tuesday, I had the most wonderful surprise as nine bright yellow ducklings followed their parents and aunt from under the tree and bushy undergrowth where they sleep (and seem to mate).
Alastair Stewart reveals how dementia informs his morning routine
GB NEWSThere is a duck house with food and water, which they occasionally pop into, but they seem to like the open air. The duckling had a swim, nibbled at the grain I put out and enjoyed the fresh water I top up every morning.
This larger flock with the little ones fill me with pride and joy, and I often go to the pond area during the day just to take a look. It boosts my spirits no end….
We get occasional eggs laid in the duck house, but not as many as the eight chickens produce.
Often, my grandson Tommy will come and help. He loves it and talks to them, and he does a search of the two hen-houses for eggs.
If successful, he proudly presents them to his nana. Wonderful.
After seeing to the poultry, it is the two dogs who I take for a brisk walk across the fields… exercise is the key to keeping blood pressure low and to minimise the chance of more strokes and worse dementia.
Following the dog walk, I put Fredericka the tortoise in her run and, unless it is raining, I give her the dandelions and clover that I picked on the dog walk. She loves both and any vegetable cuttings from the previous night's dinner.
The chickens love corn on the cob, so if that's featured, they get first dibs.
Each morning, I also like to watch the news, of course. I prefer GBNews, but we also enjoy BBC Breakfast edited by our friend Richard Frediani. I find the rest of the morning and most of the daytime schedules on the BBC and ITV appallingly dull and unimaginative.
We never watch ITV News, but at teatime I enjoy BBC South Today after the BBC 6 o’clock network news.
They have a real feel for this area and do strong work on medical and social matters. A couple of days ago, they ran a good report on the decline in services for folk with dementia in the Portsmouth area. Sally and I both thought, ‘what services?’.
It seems some GP practices have a dedicated dementia nurse on the team - ours doesn’t, but it does have people on the team who are fully up to speed on dementia.
Thankfully, I can always talk to my GP, which I frequently do.
The report featured a couple (she the carer, he the dementia patient), and it was movingly done. It was not intrusive or disrespectful, and we sympathised rather than empathised as, beyond our excellent GP, we had little or no support since my diagnosis.
The charities do much of the heavy lifting, but essentially you are on your own… I do hope NHS Hampshire checks in on dementia patients to see what they need, rather than assume the managers know best.
It has been an intriguing week for domestic politics, and GBNews played a blinder. Camila Tominey was especially strong on Sunday, and GB News’ coverage of Nigel Farage’s big policy speech was very strong. Some bleat how GBNews is just an unquestioning promoter of Reform.
I disagree, and in the coverage I watched this week, both presenters on duty (and several of their guests) picked holes in the policies and economics of Reform. I thoroughly enjoyed it all. I think Mr Farage is wrong on abolishing the two-child cap on benefits, but spot-on on maximising what people can earn before paying any tax.
Meanwhile, abroad, Elon Musk walked out on Trump as another of his rockets failed. Perhaps he is rightly electing to spend more time on his businesses. That said, I wish we had a cost-cutting and inefficiency purging unit in the UK central government.
I am delighted to say the Times approached us for a follow-up interview on lessons learned since my diagnosis, and how I am now and how we are coping. We do the interview on Monday, but have spent some time preparing with the great people at the Alzheimer's charity.
Although I don't have Alzheimer's, this is a charity that works for everyone with any form of dementia. They are also great and easy to work with.
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