Book description
The charming, funny successor to the hugely popular 'Notes to my
Mother-in-Law', from the inimitable Phyllida Law.
When her Uncle Arthur dies, actress Phyllida Law returns to the tiny
Scottish village of Ardentinny to look after her ma, Mego. Mego's always
been deliciously dotty. She once put a new packet of tights in the
fridge (and the bacon in her sock drawer). But Mego's older now and
becoming ever more muddled.
So Phyllida devotes herself to looking after Mego, but not without the
help of friends, local villagers, and her two daughters, actresses Emma
and Sophie Thompson: pulling together, they maintain order in the
cottage, find Delia on the telly and keep Mego's spirits up-with a
G&T if all else fails. Somehow, Phyllida even manages to slip away
on acting jaunts in Glasgow and Italy.
Running through Phyllida's account of Mego's final months are the
anecdotes, memories and legends that form the fabric of every family.
Phyllida's account captures the warmth and tenderness of two generations
of daughters brought together to care for their much-loved mother and
grandmother. Praise for 'How Many Camels Are There in Holland?':
'So much merriment courses through Phyllida Law's account of looking
after her mother … Many of their exchanges belong in an Alan Bennett
play' Daily Telegraph
'Phyllida Law has a delightfully natural style, a gift for anecdote and
the knack of seeing the funny side of pretty much everything. Someone so
accomplished could write a book about their weekly trip to the
supermarket and make it highly amusing … this is a funny, brave and
heartening volume … If Oliver James's excellent 'Contented Dementia' is
the Michelin, then this is a useful companion volume. Neither of these
books present doom and gloom. Law quotes Alice Thomas Ellis: 'I make it
my business to be happy. Life is bloody awful enough without being
unhappy.' Spectator
'The first thing that strikes you about Phyllida Law's account of her
mother's descent into dementia is how merry and life-affirming it is.
The fast pace gives it the immediacy of a diary and from the first page
you are thrust into the middle of the tumbling, loving Thompson
family…Not once does Phyllida moan, tears are only occasionally
mentioned and always cried in private… It is the ultimate in girl power…
the perfect (gin &) tonic' Express
'Her and Mego's exchanges often have the ring of a daffy sitcom. At one
point she shouts after her glaucoma-afflicted mother "You haven't
got your long-distance glasses on," as the latter totters out the
door for a stroll. "Don't worry dear," Mego shouts back.
"I'm not going any distance"' Independent Phyllida Thompson
has appeared in numerous plays, television series and films, including
Peter's Friends, Much Ado about Nothing, Foyle's War and Kingdom. She
was married to Eric Thompson, the writer and narrator of the English
version of The Magic Roundabout, until his death in 1982. She has two
daughters, Emma and Sophie. 'Notes to my Mother-in-Law was her first
book'.
