After the two years we have all been through, Friday at Words by the Water provides an opportunity to take a look at ourselves and the natural world around us. In the Studio, the day’s theme is Our World and Us and covers topics including dementia, mental health, the Periodic Tables, understanding intelligence and our mutual history with birds. Quite a day in the Studio.
Diagnosed with dementia at 58, Wendy Mitchell gives a first-person account of living with the diagnosis. After 20 years working as a nurse in the NHS, Wendy shares her wit and wisdom of living with dementia. In her second book, What I wish people knew about Dementia, Wendy looks at the many misconceptions people have about life with dementia.
To be able to hear what someone who is living with the condition feels and views Dementia, especially coming from a medical background is something I am really looking forward to hearing.
Dean Burnett follows Wendy onto the Studio stage and looks at Why mental health goes wrong.
With the statistic that 1-in4 of us will experience mental health issues, this is an issue we all need to be looking at. If it’s not us, the odds are there will be someone close to us going through mental health issues.
Doctor Dean Burnett is a neuroscientist, lecturer, author, blogger, podcaster, pundit, science communicator, and comedian – so this is set to be an entertaining as well as informative session. Author of Idiot Brain, his latest book is Psycho-Logical.
Previously employed as a psychiatry tutor and lecturer at the Cardiff University Centre for Medical Education, Dean is currently an honorary research associate at Cardiff Psychology School, as well as a Visiting Industry Fellow at Birmingham City University.
Our Mutual History with Birds is the title of Tim Birkhead’s session at 3 pm. Author of Birds and Us, the British ornithologist Tim has been Professor of Behaviour and Evolution at the University of Sheffield.
We also get an opportunity to compare ourselves with the animal Kingdom with Brian Butterwork at 5 pm with his session Calculating Nature. Author of Can Fish Count? who appears earlier in the Festival in the Secrets of the Animal Kingdom In in solo session at 5 pm in the Studio on Friday, Brian shows the extraordinary numerical abilities animals undertake in their everyday lives.
The final event on Friday in the Studio is Kathryn Harkup – Weird and Wonderful Stories of the Periodic Table. If you like me, you use to sit in front of this unmistakable table in chemistry, and dreamed of learning the elements in order (and sadly never succeeded) I am keen to learn more about the oddities behind this beautifully designed table of materials.
Dr Kathryn is a chemist and author. She writes and gives regular public talks on the disgusting and dangerous side of science.
You may have seen her first book, the international best-seller A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie, which was shortlisted for a Mystery Readers International Macavity Award and a BMA Book Award.
- Tomorrow we will be looking at Dynasties and the gifts of a radio.
- To view the full programme and book your tickets for Words by the Water visit: https://www.theatrebythelake.com/festival/words-by-the-water-22/
Main photo by Vedrana Filipović on Unsplash
