Norma Waterson

[Nigel w]

Gravely ill and in intensive care in hospital, I was just told...

Had a quick look at Ian A's fRoots site and there's nothing on there.

Can anybody confirm - or better still, deny this distressing report?

[AndyM]

I can do neither (although I know she was in hospital back in late Nov/early Dec). There is a thread on the Mudcat website but it refers to a illness years further back, although there's one query from today asking after her health.

[Adam Blake]

oh shit...

[MurkeyChris]

Best wishes going out to her.

[AndyM]

A Mudcat post says she is seriously ill "but improving day by day". That sounds hopeful.

[fRoots]

No, she's not well. She's been in intensive care in hospital since November, but is improving. Eliza C has a "Norma's Progress" Facebook group for family and friends to which Martin is posting quite detailed daily reports, but it would obviously be intrusive to re-post those in public on a general message board.

When Eliza started the Facebook group, her message was "My Dad has been sending out a daily blog on his mobile to those interested in how Mam is doing in the hospital. Naturally and unfortunately this has resulted in a huge phone bill, so we are moving the blog to here. I'll keep everyone updated by writing them up, and will add the older ones as I go too. If you know anyone wants to be a part of this group please go ahead and spread the word, though some of the information in this group is by its nature quite personal. While all best wishes are welcome, I will have to run any joining requests past my parents, since I don't know everybody they do. Hope you understand.x eliza"

[AndyM]

Thanks for that, Ian.

[AndyM]

Norma "on the road to recovery", according to an in-the-know poster on Mudcat.

[Nigel w]

Thanks for info, Ian.

Hope she is on the mend. I got perturbed because I was asked by a national newspaper to prepare an obit...

[MurkeyChris]

With respect Nigel, I'm not sure that's the kind of information Norma's friends and family would want to hear at this difficult time, especially as Eliza has been known to read this forum. Apologies if I'm speaking out of turn, but would you consider deleting the last post (and then I'll delete this in turn)?

Chris

[fRoots]

See http://froots.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5812

And seconding Chris's request above.

[Chris P]

from Eliza's website, yesterday's tweet:

mother update: eating ice cream and mash (not together), learning how to swallow. good times.

best wishes go with them

[AndyM]

best wishes go with them

Absolutely.

[Nigel w]

See http://froots.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5812

And seconding Chris's request above.

To be honest, hadn't even seen Chris's four week old post - and it seems odd behaviour by Mr Frooty to take an obscure month-old message from the bottom of the pile and give it fresh prominence - under the guise of asking for exactly the opposite.

As it happens, it is standard newspaper practice to prepare obits of anyone prominent who is ill, so no need to be over-sensitive. I rather thought everyone knew that. When I was news editor at the Times, every time the Queen Mum caught a cold we used to have a meeting to go through the 16 page, black-bordered pull-out tribute, which had been in existence for at least 20 years before she died.

Since Norma, in the last month I've also been asked to prepare an obit on Nile Rodgers, who recently underwent surgery for cancer, and to update the David Bowie obit, on a fresh bout of rumours that he is seriously ill. Over recent times I've also done Amy Winehouse, Pete Doherty and countless others who are still with us.

Last week, every newspaper in the world was busily updating its Nelson Mandela obit on the news that he was in hospital. Just in case.

Frankly, if someone famous is seriously ill and the newspapers don't prepare obituaries, that's when friends and family should feel offended, because it means your loved one is not as important as you would like to believe they are...and Norma Waterson is a great artist and it is right and proper that serious newspapers should monitor her condition.

Very glad that a month after being asked to prepare for the worst she is happily still with us and, judging from Chris's latest post, that she is clearly on the mend.

Best wishes to Norma and all her family.

[Rob Hall]

So, with reference to Chris' initial request, that's a "no" then?