Went up with Beloved Other Half to visit my Nan in hospital last night. She's looking and sounding a lot better after her operation but, unsurprisingly, isn't a great fan of staying in hospital for much longer. She's starting to walk again, with the help of a couple of nurses and a frame. The care there is great, the standards of cleanliness are high, nothing really to complain about, but when all's said and done there's still no dignity in being in hospital. Stuck in bed, or in a chair next to it, having to rely on other people to fetch you things – even books and drinks placed almost-but-not-quite next to you – permanently dressed in your nightware, no privacy. It's no life for someone who's reached their 90s with almost no medical problems at all, ever. I hated seeing her there.
And in other home-related stuff, here's a link to the newspaper report of the conviction of my old deputy headteacher, David Highton of Hitchin Boys' School, on child abuse charges (and here's where I originally wrote about him). It's a bit of a shock seeing him described in the headline as a 'pervert', but you can't argue with the accuracy of it. The photos was a shock too – haven't seen that ugly leer for years, and you might think he could have produced a much more friendly smile for the camera – he was certainly capable of them. Here's an excerpt, in that curiously dispassionate-yet-sensational language local newspapers use for court reports:
He admitted knowing the boy well but denied indecently touching him and told police the boy had discussed sexual matters with him and was concerned whether he was developing normally. Highton said in relation to that he examined the boy's genitals.