Latest news with #KarenJohnson
ABC News
5 days ago
- Health
- ABC News
Letters for Brian offers insight into dementia and life after rugby league
Despite everything she has gone through, Karen Johnson does not hesitate when asked how she feels about rugby league now. She still loves it. Ms Johnson was brought up on the sport as a child, her late husband Brian played professionally for the St George Dragons, and it "paid the bills at our house forever". But she cannot bring herself to recommend rugby league to a child considering taking it up. "The knowledge has been there for a long time that knocks to the head, if you're susceptible to it, can cause CTE [chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a brain disease]," she said. "Getting people to realise that hits to the head, landing on the ground, shaking your brain around is terrifying. Ms Johnson's husband Brian died from Alzheimer's disease, which the family believes was likely caused by CTE. As a coping mechanism while caring for her husband in his latter stages of life, Ms Johnson wrote him letters that she has now turned into a book. Brian Johnson was the 1980 Dally M fullback of the year and, on top of his six years at the Dragons, played a season for Eastern Suburbs and three years in Warrington in the United Kingdom. Even at the height of his career, he dreaded the collisions of the sport. "I'm really pleased to see [the NRL] trying to mitigate the [concussion] risks involved, but I don't think you can stop men and women wanting to play the sports they want to play." Ms Johnson said the diary letters to her husband helped her process the challenges she was facing. "At the time, I probably left the house for about six hours a week and other than that, I was just home caring and it was at the stage where we could virtually not go out," she said. "When he was tucked up in bed, I just needed to talk to him, so when he wasn't there, I was still talking to him like I used to." Brian Johnson died in January 2016. The letters have formed the basis for Ms Johnson's book, Letters For Brian. Rugby league writer Roy Masters said the book was a fitting tribute, an educational resource and a love story. Ms Johnson said that while writing the letters and her reflections on the time had been a cathartic experience, the book also provided an insight into life while caring for someone dying from Alzheimer's disease. "I think people assume that dementia means you can't find your car keys and you can't remember your children's names, but that's not necessarily it," she said. "They don't realise that everything that we do and what we think is intrinsic is memory — how to eat, how to speak, how to read, how to write. "Brian stopped being able to read and if he wanted to write something down and he had objects on his desk, he didn't know which one the pen was." Ms Johnson said she had shared more of her life in the book than she had expected to, but she wanted it to be a resource for people going through the same experience. "People are going to know more about us than I realised, but I kind of wrote it for me," she said. "The interest in it has taken me by surprise and I'm actually surprised at how long it is because people research books, but I just sat and had a stream of consciousness and just wrote it."
The Independent
5 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Confidence in UK economy falls from 45% in 2015 to 28% a decade later
Confidence in the strength of the UK economy has fallen from 45% in May 2015 to 28% a decade later following a cost-of-living crisis, Brexit, Covid and geopolitical upheaval, according to a long-running survey. But confidence in non-essential spending has held strong, at an average of 53% from 2015 to now, the Barclays 10 Years Of Spend report found. Despite financial pressure, households' discretionary spending has grown by 9.2% annually on average between 2021 and 2024, outpacing essential spending's 5% growth. The study, based on billions of transactions and more than 200,000 consumer confidence surveys since 2015, found that 66% of consumers pay more attention to their budget than they did a decade ago. Just under half (45%) of UK adults say they do not feel better off than they did 10 years ago. Consumer confidence in the strength of the UK economy reached its highest point in September 2016 – at 48% – after the Brexit referendum, and fell to its lowest in October 2022 – at 15% – following the September 'mini-budget'. Barclays has monitored consumers' efforts to find value in their weekly supermarket shop since 2023, finding that the percentage of shoppers who say they are trying to reduce their grocery spending has averaged 65%, peaking at 73% in April last year. Karen Johnson, head of retail at Barclays, said: 'The last decade has brought unprecedented levels of disruption. Amid all the highs and lows, consumers have continued to rebalance their budgets and find savvy ways to manage their money. 'This conscious consumerism will continue to shape spending in the years ahead.' British Retail Consortium chief executive Helen Dickinson said: 'Since the cost-of-living crisis began, many consumers have adjusted their spending habits to save money. 'More consumers are shopping around, holding off on big-ticket purchases, and are switching to own-brand ranges or cheaper brands. For food specifically, many customers are swapping out fresh products for frozen and buying cheaper cuts of meat. 'Nonetheless, retailers remain committed to supporting their consumers by keeping the price of essentials as low as possible.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Confidence in UK economy falls from 45% in 2015 to 28% a decade later
Confidence in the strength of the UK economy has fallen from 45% in May 2015 to 28% a decade later following a cost-of-living crisis, Brexit, Covid and geopolitical upheaval, according to a long-running survey. But confidence in non-essential spending has held strong, at an average of 53% from 2015 to now, the Barclays 10 Years Of Spend report found. Despite financial pressure, households' discretionary spending has grown by 9.2% annually on average between 2021 and 2024, outpacing essential spending's 5% growth. The study, based on billions of transactions and more than 200,000 consumer confidence surveys since 2015, found that 66% of consumers pay more attention to their budget than they did a decade ago. Just under half (45%) of UK adults say they do not feel better off than they did 10 years ago. Consumer confidence in the strength of the UK economy reached its highest point in September 2016 – at 48% – after the Brexit referendum, and fell to its lowest in October 2022 – at 15% – following the September 'mini-budget'. Barclays has monitored consumers' efforts to find value in their weekly supermarket shop since 2023, finding that the percentage of shoppers who say they are trying to reduce their grocery spending has averaged 65%, peaking at 73% in April last year. Karen Johnson, head of retail at Barclays, said: 'The last decade has brought unprecedented levels of disruption. Amid all the highs and lows, consumers have continued to rebalance their budgets and find savvy ways to manage their money. 'This conscious consumerism will continue to shape spending in the years ahead.' British Retail Consortium chief executive Helen Dickinson said: 'Since the cost-of-living crisis began, many consumers have adjusted their spending habits to save money. 'More consumers are shopping around, holding off on big-ticket purchases, and are switching to own-brand ranges or cheaper brands. For food specifically, many customers are swapping out fresh products for frozen and buying cheaper cuts of meat. 'Nonetheless, retailers remain committed to supporting their consumers by keeping the price of essentials as low as possible.'
Glasgow Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Glasgow Times
Confidence in UK economy falls from 45% in 2015 to 28% a decade later
But confidence in non-essential spending has held strong, at an average of 53% from 2015 to now, the Barclays 10 Years Of Spend report found. Despite financial pressure, households' discretionary spending has grown by 9.2% annually on average between 2021 and 2024, outpacing essential spending's 5% growth. The study, based on billions of transactions and more than 200,000 consumer confidence surveys since 2015, found that 66% of consumers pay more attention to their budget than they did a decade ago. Barclays has been monitoring the impact of rising prices since December 2021, when the cost of living increased sharply across the UK (Barclays/AP) Just under half (45%) of UK adults say they do not feel better off than they did 10 years ago. Consumer confidence in the strength of the UK economy reached its highest point in September 2016 – at 48% – after the Brexit referendum, and fell to its lowest in October 2022 – at 15% – following the September 'mini-budget'. Barclays has monitored consumers' efforts to find value in their weekly supermarket shop since 2023, finding that the percentage of shoppers who say they are trying to reduce their grocery spending has averaged 65%, peaking at 73% in April last year. Karen Johnson, head of retail at Barclays, said: 'The last decade has brought unprecedented levels of disruption. Amid all the highs and lows, consumers have continued to rebalance their budgets and find savvy ways to manage their money. 'This conscious consumerism will continue to shape spending in the years ahead.' British Retail Consortium chief executive Helen Dickinson said: 'Since the cost-of-living crisis began, many consumers have adjusted their spending habits to save money. 'More consumers are shopping around, holding off on big-ticket purchases, and are switching to own-brand ranges or cheaper brands. For food specifically, many customers are swapping out fresh products for frozen and buying cheaper cuts of meat. 'Nonetheless, retailers remain committed to supporting their consumers by keeping the price of essentials as low as possible.'
Rhyl Journal
6 days ago
- Business
- Rhyl Journal
Confidence in UK economy falls from 45% in 2015 to 28% a decade later
But confidence in non-essential spending has held strong, at an average of 53% from 2015 to now, the Barclays 10 Years Of Spend report found. Despite financial pressure, households' discretionary spending has grown by 9.2% annually on average between 2021 and 2024, outpacing essential spending's 5% growth. The study, based on billions of transactions and more than 200,000 consumer confidence surveys since 2015, found that 66% of consumers pay more attention to their budget than they did a decade ago. Just under half (45%) of UK adults say they do not feel better off than they did 10 years ago. Consumer confidence in the strength of the UK economy reached its highest point in September 2016 – at 48% – after the Brexit referendum, and fell to its lowest in October 2022 – at 15% – following the September 'mini-budget'. Barclays has monitored consumers' efforts to find value in their weekly supermarket shop since 2023, finding that the percentage of shoppers who say they are trying to reduce their grocery spending has averaged 65%, peaking at 73% in April last year. Karen Johnson, head of retail at Barclays, said: 'The last decade has brought unprecedented levels of disruption. Amid all the highs and lows, consumers have continued to rebalance their budgets and find savvy ways to manage their money. 'This conscious consumerism will continue to shape spending in the years ahead.' British Retail Consortium chief executive Helen Dickinson said: 'Since the cost-of-living crisis began, many consumers have adjusted their spending habits to save money. 'More consumers are shopping around, holding off on big-ticket purchases, and are switching to own-brand ranges or cheaper brands. For food specifically, many customers are swapping out fresh products for frozen and buying cheaper cuts of meat. 'Nonetheless, retailers remain committed to supporting their consumers by keeping the price of essentials as low as possible.'
