I watched Graham Thorpe bat for England countless times on television and once at Lords. Even though I didn’t know him personally at all, I was very sad when I learned he had died last week, and even more so when it emerged he had taken his own life.
Suicide feels like a preventable death, but as his wife said, “Mental illness is a real disease and can affect anyone. Despite having a wife and two daughters whom he loved and who loved him, he did not get better.” Graham Thorpe RIP.
More positively, Jan and I were walking home yesterday when we found a young man lying on the path having a fit. A neighbour had heard him scream out and came to help. We talked gently to him as he was coming to, while the other guy was on the phone to emergency services, and an ambulance was soon in attendance.
It is good to know that someone can take ill on a rainy Tuesday morning in Prestonpans and get the help they need from neighbours and the NHS.