STAMMERING

Listening to the author David Mitchell on the radio this morning, I pricked up my ears when he began to describe his ‘speech defect’. I would never have known that this articulate man, from whom words poured so easily, has a stammer. He described some of the problems he suffered at school: dreading being asked a question in class, or to read aloud. Even the social situation of being asked whether he would like tea or coffee became a challenge, because coffee was his preference, but tea was easier to say without stammering.

At school the smallest difference becomes a focal point for other children to seize upon. Not only did I have red hair and an unusual name, but I wore glasses from the age of five. Easily identified, not only was I the butt of jokes, but was forever being singled out by teachers. I was lucky, because I could answer their questions easily, and I didn’t mind reading aloud. Heaven help me though, if I was caught doing something wrong. Sometimes I felt guilty, even when I wasn’t!

The character Daniel Kettlewell stepped into my latest book ‘Stopping Time’ quite unexpectedly. I’ve worked with stammerers in the past, and the memory of one particular man – who had risen to a senior position despite a very bad stammer indeed - gave me the confidence to include such a person in the book. Not that I had much choice - my characters tend to insist on their inclusion, haunting my thoughts until I begin to define them.

Daniel is definitely one of my favourite characters. He doesn’t play a leading role, but he’s a solid, reliable young man, whose stammer has given him patience and understanding.

‘Helen recognised him at once as Daniel, another accountant she’d come across when attending work-related seminars. He spoke with a bad stammer, but they sometimes conversed over coffee, as fellow social misfits.’

It was important too for Daniel’s interaction with other characters to be as true to life as possible.

‘Julia considered how difficult it might be for him to describe what had occurred. ‘No,’ she corrected herself, feeling a little guilty at the thought, ‘it’s no problem for him - just so painful to listen to.’ '

Stammering is one of those afflictions which tend to be most noticeable - and most keenly felt - in childhood. There are methods of relaxing to ease the frequency of the stammer, and I believe singing can be of benefit. If you are affected by a speech defect, or know someone who is struggling, there is a good deal of useful information on the internet as well as this link to an article by David Mitchell, to whom I referred at the beginning of my blog: https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/david-mitchell-stammering-kings-speech

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Here we are in November already, with a waterlogged lawn that needs a final mow, the central heating turned on and an election looming. Gloomy stuff indeed, but on the odd sunny day the air is fresh and the smell of wood smoke nostalgic. And I almost forgot to mention the trees... not quite as good as last year, so my photo is of a glorious scene along the road into Okehampton a year ago.