Deric Longden and his wife, Aileen, come to terms with the fact that his mother, Annie, is getting too old to live on her own. Annie suffers her first stroke and a nursing home is the obvious solution, but which one and where?

This is an autobiographical sequel to _Wide-Eyed and Legless (1993)_. Following the death of his first wife, Diana, Deric has now married the writer Aileen Armitage and they are living in Huddersfield. His eccentric mother, who has a well-honed but distinctly off-beat way with words, is gradually declining in health due to old age. Then a stroke cruelly robs her of her greatest gift: her power of speech.—Martin Underwood <[email protected]>