Interview with BBC Radio WM - 10 min listen

Today, Alison was interviewed by Letitia George on BBC Radio WM.

Alison Hitchcock:

I think … one of the surprising things is the way that friends don't know what to say. And so they don't say anything. And they really back away from the person, and Brian used to say this a lot. The people who he expected to step-up, didn't. And the people who he didn't expect to be involved, really did. And I think it's because cancer is still a scary illness. It's a very unpredictable illness. And you don't know what to say to somebody. So that person can be left feeling quite isolated, and quite lonely.

Brian used to say that people would be going to work, and he used to go to work. And then he'd just been left at home with all the neighbours gone. And knowing that his friends were all at work, and he was just left at home with daytime TV. And that can feel quite soulless, whereas, you know, he said that if a letter landed on his mat, he knew that somebody else was thinking about him and has made that connection with him.

Letitia George:

I think it's amazing what you did. Something you just said just stuck with me. When you were saying that Brian would get up and he used to go to work. And then all of a sudden, that just stopped and everybody around him, you know, his neighbours and everything would head off to work. I can only imagine. And the way I would put that is I can only imagine it as some sort of heavy silence. Does that make sense? The street goes quiet. And the only got is the sound of yourself. And maybe whatever entertainment that you've got on at the time. So I can imagine that little knock on the door with the letter, I can just imagine it would make your heart jump with happiness.

You can listen to the full 10 minute interview from 1 hour 50 minutes on BBC Sounds, or via this recording.