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2008 - June 23rd - Monday

JH received a phone call from Sarah Martin, Press Officer in Derriford: Sarah M had received a request, from Sara Stacey whom JH had recently emailed, that the former contact JH about publicity with regards to her kidney donation – to be submitted to the Herald for publication in National Transplant Week commencing 7th July.  Sarah M and JH had a long conversation!  Sarah did wonder if JH had sufficient ‘affinity’ to Plymouth, for the publicity to be in the local Press, but JH is confident that she convinced Sarah M that she was a stalwart member of the Plymouth Community, although of course she could never ‘become’ a Plymothian! 


 

JH explained that a lot of her pre-operative screening was done at Derriford; that JH had lived in Plymouth for longer, now, than she had originally lived in Maidenhead; that JH was ‘around and about’ Plymouth with a lot of her activities such as:- being a volunteer at the PCFCD; that she had spent 40 years of her career working for the NHS, a large part of which had been spent in the hospitals in Plymouth, after JH came down to Plymouth to do her Midwifery Training in 1965.  Furthermore, JH explained briefly how she first met Kathy, and how she came to offer Kathy a kidney.  And JH pointed out that she still worked - as a volunteer - at Derriford, in her capacity as a WRVS Tea Bar Lady. 
 
When JH mentioned to Sarah Martin that she had compiled a Donation Diary, commencing in October 2005 when she first offered Kathy a kidney, Sarah was most pleased to hear about this – and requested that JH sent all 130 or so pages to her by email.  Well why Not!  JH did explain that all the notes JH made whilst in the RLH in June 2007 had still not been transcribed, but obviously Sarah would be more interested in JH’s run-up to reaching the operating table – for the purposes of encouraging the others in an article for the Herald.  JH also explained that her Diary was a full and frank exposé, so there was no cover-up of identities – with regards to concerns about libellous remarks!?  Action: JH to ‘tidy up’ her Donation Diary this very afternoon, and then dispatch the relevant bits to Sarah M.

2008 - June 28th - Saturday

Kathy rang JH to finalise the arrangements for the Skinners arrival at Chez JH tomorrow.  Ralph spoke to JH and told her that there was no need for JH to wait at the roundabout by the slip road to the Parkway, as he felt sure he would find JH’s abode – with the help of the local street plan of St Budeaux which JH had recently posted to him (although, on retrospect, Ralph did not need to be sent a map in any case!).  JH told Kathy that JH was doing her yearly vacuuming, in view of having visitors arriving to stay; K and R were of course getting very organised for their visit.

Kathy had already sent JH an email to say that, On 26th June, Kathy and Ralph had talked to Sarah Calkin (yet another Sarah!) the Reporter from their local Echo: apparently, there was a thought that Sarah C would also mention that Peter Hipsey – who has several Lever Arch files full of the Hipseys’ Family History – was the instigator of all the research, in East Anglia, about the Family Tree, and that Peter would be happy to be mentioned in ‘dispatches’ in the Echo; the Press Photographer would be coming to the Chez Skinner to photograph Ralph and Kathy together on the Monday after their return from Plymouth; JH would be telephoned by Sarah C on Monday evening, 30th June.  Kathy said that she and Ralph could not find their copies of the photos - of K and JH taken in the RLH in our nighties - anywhere; fortunately JH recollected that she had just filed her copies in her photo album.  [Subsequently, JH noted that Peter did not get a mention in the article; JH loaned the photos to Kathy who returned them when she sent a copy of the Echo article]



 
 
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