I love quizzes, don’t you?

Posted Wednesday 4 January 2012

When my children were in primary school we made up a team with some friends and became the ‘Nice But Dims’.

We would alternate between our school quiz and our friends’ children’s school quiz. This went on for all their years through school until they left and the Nice But Dims went into retirement.

The years have passed and all our children have grown up and started to make their way in the world. At this time, my team-mates, partner and I became members of the ‘middle’ generation. We were those who found themselves caught between the needs of their children and those of their parents.

It was after the death of my father that my mother, who was so shocked by his death, developed mental health problems.

I soon discovered that mental health among the elderly was a big issue for many people and perhaps not very well understood by some of the medical profession.

Whilst still grieving for our father, my siblings and I found ourselves struggling to cope with Mum’s mental health issues as well as all the other practical things that go with the death of a close relative.

Around this time I turned to Mind for some practical advice and found them to be so supportive and helpful. This stuck with me.

In the years since the deaths of our parents, my husband and I have had some fun taking part in and organising fundraising activities for different charities.

Most recently we organised a quiz for Mind. The Nice But Dims came out of retirement.

The last four years we have been taking part in a local pub quiz run by one of the most delightful young men (Phil Dixon) who, full of enthusiasm, has been kind enough to act as quiz master for the quizzes I have organised.

We are also very lucky to have a local bar owner (Alan @ Chimp House) who has not only provided the venue for our quizzes but also, as his charitable donation, given snack foods and prizes free of charge.

We raised £150 for which we are very grateful to everyone who supported us. We also hope that in some small way we have helped to raise awareness of mental health issues and provided the opportunity for open discussion.

Karen

Karen and her husband live in Bristol, where they continue to have fun while raising money for charity.

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