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| Monty Python star’s illness ‘sparked huge interest in dementia’ Monty Python star’s illness ‘sparked huge interest in dementia’ | |
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| The news this autumn that the former Monty Python actor Terry Jones is suffering from dementia prompted an extraordinary outpouring of support and interest in the illness, his colleague Michael Palin has said. | The news this autumn that the former Monty Python actor Terry Jones is suffering from dementia prompted an extraordinary outpouring of support and interest in the illness, his colleague Michael Palin has said. |
| “The response was not just great sympathy for Terry and his family, but great interest in dementia,” Palin said. “So many people from all over the world saying my mother, my grandmother, my sister, my aunt, we’ve all suffered from this so what can we learn from this. That really surprised me and everyone I know.” | “The response was not just great sympathy for Terry and his family, but great interest in dementia,” Palin said. “So many people from all over the world saying my mother, my grandmother, my sister, my aunt, we’ve all suffered from this so what can we learn from this. That really surprised me and everyone I know.” |
| Palin was interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, along with Michael Parkinson, by the actor Carey Mulligan, who guest-edited Tuesday’s edition and focused on dementia, because her grandmother Nancy is also affected. | Palin was interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, along with Michael Parkinson, by the actor Carey Mulligan, who guest-edited Tuesday’s edition and focused on dementia, because her grandmother Nancy is also affected. |
| Carey Mulligan, Michael Palin and Michael Parkinson discuss how music helped loved ones with dementia. Read more: https://t.co/MGYhUjjQn6 pic.twitter.com/ZrqW4AW49x | Carey Mulligan, Michael Palin and Michael Parkinson discuss how music helped loved ones with dementia. Read more: https://t.co/MGYhUjjQn6 pic.twitter.com/ZrqW4AW49x |
| Jones’s illness, which was diagnosed as primary progressive aphasia, had been known to friends and family for some time before it was announced to the public in September, Palin said. | Jones’s illness, which was diagnosed as primary progressive aphasia, had been known to friends and family for some time before it was announced to the public in September, Palin said. |
| During the last Monty Python live shows at the O2 in London in 2014, Jones had to use an autocue for some sections, such as the Four Yorkshiremen sketch, although for other parts, such as the Penguin on the TV sketch, he was still word-perfect, Palin said. | During the last Monty Python live shows at the O2 in London in 2014, Jones had to use an autocue for some sections, such as the Four Yorkshiremen sketch, although for other parts, such as the Penguin on the TV sketch, he was still word-perfect, Palin said. |
| The disease is taking away Jones’s ability to communicate, Palin said. “For someone who was so articulate, who loved words and jokes and all that sort of thing, to be deprived of speech, it’s a terrible thing to happen,” he said. | The disease is taking away Jones’s ability to communicate, Palin said. “For someone who was so articulate, who loved words and jokes and all that sort of thing, to be deprived of speech, it’s a terrible thing to happen,” he said. |
| “But I feel, well, Terry’s still there – you can’t say because he can’t speak, he can’t feel things, and in fact when I’m with Terry there’s an emotional response. He recognises me and gives me a hug ... We see him noticing things.” | “But I feel, well, Terry’s still there – you can’t say because he can’t speak, he can’t feel things, and in fact when I’m with Terry there’s an emotional response. He recognises me and gives me a hug ... We see him noticing things.” |
| Jones remains capable of surprising people, Palin said, describing having lunch with him and friends at the pub. “He doesn’t say very much until it comes to ordering the wine, when some really fluent Portuguese or whatever comes out,” he said. | Jones remains capable of surprising people, Palin said, describing having lunch with him and friends at the pub. “He doesn’t say very much until it comes to ordering the wine, when some really fluent Portuguese or whatever comes out,” he said. |
| Jones, 74, directed the Monty Python films The Life of Brian and Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life, and co-directed Monty Python and the Holy Grail with Terry Gilliam. After Jones’s dementia was announced, Palin wrote on Facebook that the impact of the disease on his friend and colleague of more than 50 years had been “painful to watch”. | Jones, 74, directed the Monty Python films The Life of Brian and Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life, and co-directed Monty Python and the Holy Grail with Terry Gilliam. After Jones’s dementia was announced, Palin wrote on Facebook that the impact of the disease on his friend and colleague of more than 50 years had been “painful to watch”. |
| Parkinson told Mulligan about his mother’s experiences of the disease and how music could comfort her. During one visit, he took her to his car and put on a Frank Sinatra CD. “She sang every lyric – every single one. She didn’t know who I was, but she knew who Sinatra was,” he said. | Parkinson told Mulligan about his mother’s experiences of the disease and how music could comfort her. During one visit, he took her to his car and put on a Frank Sinatra CD. “She sang every lyric – every single one. She didn’t know who I was, but she knew who Sinatra was,” he said. |
| Jones enjoys watching musicals from the 1920s and 1930s, Palin said. “It’s music and it’s kind of nostalgia and he loves watching those: he will watch them time and again and I just find it incredibly touching.” | Jones enjoys watching musicals from the 1920s and 1930s, Palin said. “It’s music and it’s kind of nostalgia and he loves watching those: he will watch them time and again and I just find it incredibly touching.” |
| They discussed the challenges dementia poses for friends and family in continuing to relate to the person with the illness. “It’s very, very hard, I think, to know exactly how to be with them and how to relax with them,” Palin said. “I think he [Jones] likes having people there, but if nothing comes back it’s quite difficult and I can see people saying, ‘Oh well, I’ve done my bit, that’s it, I’m going off.’” | They discussed the challenges dementia poses for friends and family in continuing to relate to the person with the illness. “It’s very, very hard, I think, to know exactly how to be with them and how to relax with them,” Palin said. “I think he [Jones] likes having people there, but if nothing comes back it’s quite difficult and I can see people saying, ‘Oh well, I’ve done my bit, that’s it, I’m going off.’” |
| Parkinson said: “There’s a tendency for some people to say, if she doesn’t recognise me then as far as I’m concerned they are dead ... That does happen. I just hope to god when that happens to you, you don’t feel that kind of rejection.” | Parkinson said: “There’s a tendency for some people to say, if she doesn’t recognise me then as far as I’m concerned they are dead ... That does happen. I just hope to god when that happens to you, you don’t feel that kind of rejection.” |