Nina's War

Author Nina Bawden talks about the Potters Bar rail crash

Best known for her children’s novel Carrie’s War that was inspired by her experiences as a wartime evacuee, author Nina Bawden has been involved in a different sort of battle of late – the campaign to see justice done for those affected by the Potters Bar rail crash in 2002. Bawden was badly injured in the crash and her husband, Austen Kark, was killed. Bawden is, understandably, very angry with Jarvis and Network Rail. “I think they should be tried for corporate manslaughter but you can’t do that because it’s too difficult. I think they should admit liability and pay compensation properly to people who need it.”

Problem Shared

If you have a personal or practical issue, sharing it with others who’ve had similar experiences can help ease the burden – and may provide a solution.

Is there a right age for getting a hearing aid? My family keep nagging me to get one.

Hearing therapist, Val Tait replies:  May I begin with a few words of reassurance? Modern hearing aids are small, behind-the-ear models and should not whistle. I wear two hearing aids myself and one of my usual comments to a worried patient is: “We will be talking for an hour. If, during that time, my hearing aids whistle once, I will pay you five pounds.” I have never had to pay up yet!

Last word...

Columnist Maggie Woolley celebrates 25 years of deaf television in the UK.

Not many people know this but the first ever UK deaf television show made by deaf people was broadcast in May 1979, 25 years ago. As members of the National Union of the Deaf, a group of us applied to make an Open Door programme in 1976. This enabled ordinary people to make TV programmes about issues that concerned them. In these days of wall to wall subtitles and BSL interpretation for deaf insomniacs in the middle of the night, it’s hard to remember that once we had no access to television at all.