Didi Mae Hand

Docs Producer/ Director, Absolutely Dyer | Hacker:Hunter | Our Land | Europe From Above | Little Miss Sumo. #BaftaConnect

[John Simpson @JohnSimpsonNews]

Remembering today not just the family members who fought and died in two world wars, but also my handsome, charming great-uncle Harold whose life was ruined by his injuries in WW1 and who died, homeless and alone, on a bench at Waterloo station in 1960; not a lifestyle choice.

[CALL TO ACTIVISM @CalltoActivism]

This is a beautiful letter from Fiona Apple explaining to her fans why she must postpone a concert date.

I am impressed at the way she was instantly able to make the decision to choose love over her career. Indeed, the world needs more of this.

Enjoy the story...

“It's 6pm on Friday, and I'm writing to a few thousand friends I have not met yet. I'm writing to ask them to change our plans and meet a little while later.

Here's the thing.

I have a dog, Janet, and she's been ill for about 2 years now, as a tumor has been idling in her chest, growing ever so slowly. She's almost 14 years old now. I got her when she was 4 months old. I was 21 then — an adult, officially — and she was my kid.

She is a pitbull, and was found in Echo Park, with a rope around her neck, and bites all over her ears and face.

She was the one the dogfighters use to puff up the confidence of the contenders.

She's almost 14 and I've never seen her start a fight, or bite, or even growl, so I can understand why they chose her for that awful role. She's a pacifist.

Janet has been the most consistent relationship of my adult life, and that is just a fact. We've lived in numerous houses, and joined a few makeshift families, but it's always really been just the two of us.

She slept in bed with me, her head on the pillow, and she accepted my hysterical, tearful face into her chest, with her paws around me, every time I was heartbroken, or spirit-broken, or just lost, and as years went by, she let me take the role of her child, as I fell asleep, with her chin resting above my head.

She was under the piano when I wrote songs, barked any time I tried to record anything, and she was in the studio with me, all the time we recorded the last album.

The last time I came back from tour, she was spry as ever, and she's used to me being gone for a few weeks, every 6 or 7 years.

She has Addison's Disease, which makes it more dangerous for her to travel, since she needs regular injections of Cortisol, because she reacts to stress and excitement without the physiological tools which keep most of us from literally panicking to death.

Despite all this, she's effortlessly joyful & playful, and only stopped acting like a puppy about 3 years ago. She is my best friend, and my mother, and my daughter, my benefactor, and she's the one who taught me what love is.

I can't come to South America. Not now. When I got back from the last leg of the US tour, there was a big, big difference.

She doesn't even want to go for walks anymore.

I know that she's not sad about aging or dying.

Animals have a survival instinct, but a sense of mortality and vanity, they do not. That's why they are so much more present than people.

But I know she is coming close to the time where she will stop being a dog, and start instead to be part of everything. She'll be in the wind, and in the soil, and the snow, and in me, wherever I go.

I just can't leave her now, please understand. If I go away again, I'm afraid she'll die and I won't have the honor of singing her to sleep, of escorting her out.
Sometimes it takes me 20 minutes just to decide what socks to wear to bed.

But this decision is instant.

These are the choices we make, which define us. I will not be the woman who puts her career ahead of love & friendship.

I am the woman who stays home, baking Tilapia for my dearest, oldest friend. And helps her be comfortable and comforted and safe and important.

I need to do my damnedest, to be there for that.

Because it will be the most beautiful, the most intense, the most enriching experience of life I've ever known.

When she dies.

So I am staying home, and I am listening to her snore and wheeze, and I am revelling in the swampiest, most awful breath that ever emanated from an angel. And I'm asking for your blessing.
I'll be seeing you.

Love,
Fiona”

[Didi Mae Hand @didimae]

Delighted to be invited to join @Bafta as a #BaftaConnect member. What an honour and such an exciting opportunity!

[Grain Media @grainmedia]

This is an utter gut-punch. We loved Jess so much. She was just extraordinary. A force of nature. She shaped so much of our work,& that of the whole doc community. This is a massive loss to us all. All love to Jess’ family & loved ones across the world.💔 https://t.co/oIcrof3CE5

[CALL TO ACTIVISM @CalltoActivism]

”The famous Italian diver Enzo Maiorca dove into the sea of ​​Syracuse and was talking to his daughter Rossana who was aboard the boat. Ready to go in, he felt something slightly hit his back.

He turned and saw a dolphin. Then he realized that the dolphin did not want to play but to express something. The animal dove and Enzo followed.

At a depth of about 12 meters, trapped in an abandoned net, there was another dolphin. Enzo quickly asked his daughter to grab the diving knives.

Soon, the two of them managed to free the dolphin, which, at the end of the ordeal, emerged, issued an "almost human cry" (describes Enzo). (A dolphin can stay under water for up to 10 minutes, then it drowns.)

The released dolphin was helped to the surface by Enzo, Rosana and the other dolphin. That’s when the surprise came: she was pregnant!

The male circled them, and then stopped in front of Enzo, touched his cheek (like a kiss), in a gesture of gratitude and then they both swam off.

Enzo Maiorca ended his speech by saying: “Until man learns to respect and speak to the animal world, he can never know his true role on Earth.”

[Didi Mae Hand @didimae]

@sophmorgTV Oh Sophie I'm sorry, what a fucking horrible thing to happen. I'm sure anyone with a shred of common sense will be reporting it along with the knuckle-dragging bellends that are sharing it.

[Didi Mae Hand @didimae]

@eos_da hi there, I'm looking to speak with someone in your agriculture and forestry division about an exciting new project I'm working on. Could you advise me on the best way to get in touch. Thanks, Didi

[Didi Mae Hand @didimae]

So proud of this episode - stay tuned till the end, it packs one hell of an emotional punch!

[4Viewers @4Viewers]

The duo explore Tuscany's Dolce Vita, lap up Florence's masterpieces and visit the bay of poets in tonight's #AbsolutelyDyer #DannyAndDaniDoItaly - 9pm on @E4Tweets

[Nature is Amazing ☘️ @AMAZlNGNATURE]

Did you know that bees sleep between 5-8 hours a day, sometimes in flowers? Also, they like to sleep with other bees and hold each other’s feet.

(📸: Joe Neely)

[TV Zone @tvukzone]

Tonight: Danny and Dani Dyer travel to Italy for new E4 series #AbsolutelyDyer. More details:

https://t.co/vzvnN0b9y5

[E4 @E4Tweets]

Ready for some culture, chaos, and a banging new collection of one-liners?

Absolutely Dyer: Danny and Dani Do Italy starts Sunday 23 at 9pm or you can watch the whole series on All 4 #AbsolutelyDyer

[Didi Mae Hand @didimae]

@vargasfao hi Ronald, I'm developing a new project and would love to speak with you. What's the best way to get in touch? Best wishes, Didi

[Didi Mae Hand @didimae]

@GunturSubbarao hi I am working on a new project and would love to speak with you. What is the best way to get in touch? Best wishes, Didi

[Amy Silverstein, author @ajsilverstein16]

I will be closing down my Twitter in 2 weeks. Meanwhile:
My Transplanted Heart and I Will Die Soon https://t.co/9ko3Eu53oK

[Didi Mae Hand @didimae]

@ProfJudithSmith Oh no! Wishing you a speedy recovery - rest up for now!

[Massimo @Rainmaker1973]

What if great scientists had logos

[credits: Kapil Bhagat & Prateek Lala: https://t.co/jqwnX92hqQ]

[Didi Mae Hand @didimae]

@dog_rates This is Murphey, Murphey enjoys running with sticks.

[Jordan King @JordanMBKing]

Still thinking about Aftersun. Today, *THE* shot. And I’m thinking about it because it distils in a single frame some heavy things I’ve grown up with and experienced since becoming a father that it overwhelms me to see on screen. I feel like this one’s going to need a thread 🧵:

[Didi Mae Hand @didimae]

@WAK4S Hi there, I'm working on a new cybercrime series and I was wondering if you're free for a chat? What's the best way to contact you? All the best, Didi

[Didi Mae Hand @didimae]

@danielmakelley Hi Daniel, I'm a director working on the new series of Hacker:hunter and I was wondering what's the best way to get in touch with you? All the best, Didi