An update - I felt that now would be a good time to bring this up to date. A lot has happened. We visited homes, and some we felt were too big - not so much homes, more like “facilities”. We found one we really liked, but sadly the council could not meet the prices asked (grandma has no property which we could sell to make up any shortfall). So after a second round of vista, we managed to get her a place in one which seems well run and caring. She had her first month’s review today, and she seems quite happy with where she is, and there are no problems with her staying on. So she’s a permanent resident there now.

I think the constant company she has there is helping keep her grounded mentally, and she seems to like joining in with the activities on offer. She’s keeping the staff on their toes. Grandma is physically active and has a fast natural walking speed (this is where I get mine from), and is clearly happy to move around the place unaided.

So, good news for us - we don’t have to worry about her immediate care and needs on a daily basis. Added benefit is that we also don’t have to worry about my mum shouldering everything now. Things can relax and we can concentrate on clearing her old flat, moving stuff from there to her new room. I think we’ve reached the end of this chapter of worry with a satisfactory conclusion. Hooray!

It’s been helpful getting perspectives here from others - suggestions made here were taken on board and used during various visits to prospective homes. Thanks, all!

Congrats on things working out for granny. Can always be tricky. Glad she enjoys her new home. Havin her old stuf there, photos etc will help her feel more settled in. As things deteriorate, I wonder whether its worth having some momentos around her - things that she'll recognise despite her confusion getting worse. Usually it's stuff from childhood/youth.

Oh, that's some good news. Good to hear.

I took my iPad around to show her some photos on Saturday. She was more interested in the iPad itself. She could not believe how it was all slotted together, and that it was everything - memory, keyboard, screen, etc.. This wasn’t some kind of babbling confusion either. This was her interest and enquiring mind firing on all cylinders. She used to work for Marconi and later for an electronics company involved in the manufacture and testing of microchips. So she has always been interested in computers and gadgets.

Actually, she’s in pretty good form at the moment - but this showed that she’s still interested in technology and developments. She even had a go at drawing a picture using one of the sketching apps I have on it. I’ll take it with me next time and show her more pictures and see what else we can get her to do with it. I think I have Scrabble on it somewhere.

Great news Paul. I think you could show an iPad to my parents and they wouldn't get it...