1 hour ago
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Re memory tests (Letters, 1 July), my mother was taken to hospital some years ago after an infection overwhelmed her. She was confused and stressed. A doctor wanted to check her mental capacity and gave her paper and a pencil, asking that she write down a sentence with a subject, an object and a verb.
I was trying to find the words to say that this was unfair, given her health. A lot of people might not even know what was meant by a subject and an object. But my mother wrote: “I will not do this”, giving us a withering look.
Ross Bradshaw
Nottingham
My brother was given memory tests on his frequent hospital visits in his later years. When asked if he could count backwards from 20 to zero, he would reply: “Shall I do that in English, French, German, Welsh, Norwegian or Latin?”
Tim Scott
London
When Elizabeth II was on the throne, I was asked by my practice nurse: “How many children does the queen have?” She was not amused by my reply: “Too many!”
Jason Hill
Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire
English (US) ·