Well, maybe not. I don't think they meant it, really, and I don't think I do, either. I have given it some serious thought, though: I do occasionally traverse down to the Elderly Bungalows that are attached to my base on matters of business, and see the effects of dementia at close hand. This is sufficient to give any one with half a brain serious pause: would I, or you, want to carry on knowing that there is no way out other than death and the only way forward is seriously downhill. Not that it is as simple as that, of course: Once upon a time I made myself a deal that should I ever succumb to dementia, or Alzheimer's Disease, that when the time came when things were irretrievably breaking down I would exercise my free will as an individual and die in a manner of my own choosing. The problem is that once you get to that point, you're physically unable to go through with it.

There's a TV program on next week that is going to be looking at the care of the elderly. From what I saw of the trailer, I don't think it's going to be particularly complimentary to the staff that have been filmed delivering hands-on care. NHS care, and particularly nursing care, has taken a small hammering over the recent past and I fear that there is more to come.

There could be many reasons for this. Maybe enough people are sick of shoddy care and have had enough of approaching staff for help with their relatives, either to be ignored, or referred to someone else, or be told that it is not their job to clean up shit. Or maybe, it's time to turn the focus away from the Bankers and take a closer look at the public sector and the very expensive NHS, and see what we're getting for our money there.

Either way, the saddest part of all is that there are some seriously good people out there delivering care to the best of their abilities, doing an astonishing job, who are going to feel very let down.