February 14, 2010: On February 1 this year, BBC 1 broadcasted the Richard Dimbleby Lecture "Shaking Hands With Death" by famous author Terry Pratchet. In this lecture Pratchet - himself being diagnosed with [early] Alzheimer - made a plea for a "pre-assistance assessment" by tribunals, a system used in the UK in other sensitive situations. The Guardian printed an edited extract, which can be read by clicking here.