Diary Friday 17th May 2019

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I helped out at the university today, as a volunteer, promoting the closing day of the week long Dying Matters promotion. I have attended all the talks and film screenings too, with today’s talk on Digital Legacies closing a very thoughtful series of events. My role was just handing out leaflets and information on Dying Matters, a national promotion, and the voluntary work group I help out with too. Later I went to the talk, at which some nice sandwiches and cakes were provided too. The presentation concerned giving loved ones some knowledge and access to internet files for them to be able to recover photographs, file messages, online banking resources, especially digital currencies such as Bitcoin, etc. There have been recent cases where spouses have been denied access to social networking pages because they have not been given their partner’s passwords or decryption tools. Some sites have deleted files as soon as someone has died, including a block closing of several youngsters killed in a terrorist incident. Friends wanted their pages preserved as places to visit and pay respects, but sometimes this has not been possible, but major changes are making such access easier. The rest of the day was spent writing and reading and shopping. My thanks to everyone at Dying Matters, especially those visiting Preston this week. I hope these taboo breaking talks will become an annual event. Arthur Chappell