You will be able to order and pay for all these things online, or, if you prefer, send an email to me – Jenny@littleknollpress.co.uk – or ring +44 (0)23 8084 2190

Unfortunately Winnie was unable to attend due to back pain and Frank stayed with her at home to look after her.  Jenny Knowles and Kitty Reeves represented them, and enjoyed talking to people and selling copies of the books.

A surprising number of shoppers had close connections with India, some had been born there, some sent ‘home’ to boarding school and others had lived or travelled there and knew some of the people mentioned in ‘Cor Blimey!’.   It is amazing how many people have been reached by the book and how many people have shared memories of at least one piece of the story.

The sad thing about the high number of amputations is that most of them could be avoided by people with diabetes learning how to look after their feet.

Hospitals with a Diabetic Foot Clinic have proved this.  One hospital reduced by half the total amputations performed during the first year of running a diabetic foot clinic.

You can read in ‘Cor Blimey! Where ‘ave you come from?’ about one of the first Diabetic Foot Clinics in this country, set up by Frank Tovey when he returned to England in the late 1960s to work as a General Surgeon at Basingstoke District Hospital.

Frank noticed that diabetic patients were being referred to him with foot ulcers similar to those experienced by leprosy patients.  The common feature of both diseases was neuropathy (loss of feeling) and the common solution was better care of the feet and protective footwear.

You can learn this and much more from ‘Cor Blimey! Where ‘ave you come from?’

Presenter Bill Buckley asked them about their time in China, their work in Holdsworth Memorial Hospital and villages near Mysore, South India, and the link between the leprosy work they were doing in India and the setting up of Diabetic Footcare Clinics in the U.K.   The interviews took place through the last hour of the three hour programme.

Up to Monday 5th March you will be able to listen to their interview online.

Go to the BBC Radio Berkshire website, click on ‘MON 27′,  then click on ‘Anne Diamond’.

Don’t worry if you miss the deadline.  A recording of the interview will be available from this site.

Come and meet Winnie and Frank Tovey at The Basingstoke Waterstone’s book launch.

On Thursday 23rd February Waterstone’s, Wesley Walk, Basingstoke, are hosting the Waterstone’s launch of Cor Blimey! Where ‘ave you come from?  The event will run from 6-8pm, starting with a short presentation about the authors and their book, followed by the chance to meet them, get your books signed and have a chat. 

The event will be  held on the first floor of Waterstone’s.  You can let me know that you are coming (Jenny@LittleKnollPress.co.uk) or just turn up on the evening and come upstairs.  There will be a warm welcome for you along with a glass of wine or fruit juice.

The authors, now both in their 90s, have special connections with Basingstoke.  They moved there in 1968 after returning ‘home’ from India.  Frank was 46 years old by then and most surgeons of his age had specialised much earlier in their careers.  This made it difficult for Frank, with his wide and general surgical experience in India, to find a post in England.  Basingstoke provided a wonderful opportunity for him as the town was being developed at that time (it was a ‘London overspill’ town).  Doctors and surgeons with wide experience and a track record of hospital administration were needed for the team that would staff the new hospital (now the Maternity Hospital).

Alongside surgery, the work that Frank and Winnie had been doing in India with leprosy patients had a direct impact on the services that were developed at Basingstoke Hospital.  People with diabetes have some of the same problems as leprosy patients, with loss of feeling (neuropathy) in their feet (and sometimes in the fingers).  This means that an injury to the foot may not be noticed by the patient and it can easily develop into a foot ulcer.  Frank was distressed to find that for so many diabetes sufferers this resulted in amputation. 

With Winnie’s help Frank set up in Basingstoke the first Diabetic Footcare Clinic in the country.   In India Winnie had run a shoe-making service and provided advice at the leprosy clinics on how to look after neuropathic feet and hands.  This preventive care meant that patients did not lose toes and feet and could carry on their normal lives and work.  Due to the link with leprosy work in Mysore, S India, the same preventive care is now applied for diabetes sufferers in many clinics through Great Britain.

You can listen to Winnie and Frank talking about this and many other topics on BBC Radio 4 Midweek on the 28th December 2011 or by using the following link

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b018gqys

The earlier book by Winnie and Frank, ‘Strangers in Chaotung‘, is also in demand again.  Through the interview with Winnie and Frank on Libby Purves’ Midweek programme (BBC Radio 4 Midweek 28th Dec 2011 – you can listen online and will find a link in an earlier posting) the authors have been reunited with their bridesmaid. 

They married in haste when Frank was asked to go to China as a medical missionary with only a few weeks notice.  He was told that he either went as a single man or got married before leaving.  It was 1946 and rationing was still in place.  Winnie borrowed her wedding dress, her friend attended as bridesmaid and another friend as organist. 

 The distance between Bedford and China and the subsequent marriage of bridesmaid and organist, followed by their move from Bedford meant that all contact was lost – until now 64 years later, thanks to Midweek.

 You can still listen online.  Just click on the link below

Midweek “Cor Blimey….”

Want to buy?  Cor Blimey! Where ‘ave you come from?  ISBN 978-0-9565359-3-1

                                 Strangers in Chaotung   ISBN no. 978-0-9565359-0-0

Email Jenny@LittleKnollPress.co.uk     Use the shop on this site    or ask for the books at independent bookshops and Waterstone’s