Who are your heroes?

I have three heroes. There isn't a single day that goes by when I don't think about or thank one of them. It could be a split second thing, a quote, something about them could come up in conversation or I'll recall a specific topic. Whatever the reason, for over half my life I've thought about these people daily.

Some may think that heroes should be historic figures who have drastically improved the lives of many whilst making sacrifices in their own. Perhaps the Suffragettes who bravely campaigned to get women the vote or maybe Martin Luther King who fought for civil rights. Others might say that heroes should be people you know personally. A grandparent who was in a war, a relative who has overcome illness or a friend achieving their dream.

My heroes may not have changed the world and I might not know them but each one has had a huge impact on my life. They might not be your first choice in terms of who you admire but they are so deeply ingrained in my existence that I would be a completely different person if I hadn't discovered them.

My heroes are an author, a comedian and a playwright. Terry Pratchett, Eddie Izzard and Richard O'Brien.

Between the ages of 13-14 years old I read Witches Abroad written by Terry Pratchett, watched Glorious by Eddie Izzard and saw The Rocky Horror Picture Show penned by Richard O'Brien. It was love at first sight.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is my favourite film of all time. Yours might be something by Hitchcock, a timeless classic, have a gritty script or a bunch of heavyweight actors but mine doesn't. Mine has music, transvestites, aliens, glitter and Meatloaf. I stopped counting how many times I'd seen it when I reached the 187th viewing. Watching it with friends and us all singing along and laughing away has created some great memories for me. For years I wanted to be a Criminologist because of this film. It's shaped my love of all things sparkly. It doesn't try to be something it's not and it's completely unapologetic about it.

Terry Pratchett has single-handedly shaped my sense of humour. His Discworld books will always be the best books I will ever read because they make me laugh. When I read one I feel like it's written it just for me as I fall in love with every character, the good ones and the bad, because they are simply perfect. Their dialogue, their reactions, everything. I will stay up all night devouring page after page. When I turn a page and see one of his hilarious occasional footnotes at the bottom it's almost torture stopping myself from reading it before I get to the piece of text it relates to. I react to everything with humour, especially the serious stuff and it's all because of Sir Pratchett. In the last few years I've been told by many medical staff that my attitude to life in the shadow of serious illness is very refreshing and I have Terry to thank for that.

I don't know where to start with Eddie Izzard. Glorious was on tv one night and after watching it I was obsessed. A friend at school had watched it too and for weeks we reminisced about evil giraffes, being covered in bees and Sean Connery as Noah from the bible. I eventually bought it on VHS (remember those?!) for £17 from HMV. Over the years I've watched everything he's made, spent a fortune on collector edition box sets and been to see him live. I used to have a terrible phobia of needles and after seeing the size of the ones used in dialysis I was convinced I'd die before they'd be able to get near me with it. The psychologist offered me hypnotherapy and I had to choose somebody I admired as part of it so I chose Eddie. She used him during the hypnotherapy for me to relate to when I next needed to be brave because he was able to get on stage and make thousands of people laugh without getting stage fright. It worked. I'm completely cured. I can hold needles, even if they're in my arm. I haven't cried, thrown up or had a panic attack after seeing one on tv for over 2 years now. The change is incredible.

My heroes have shown me how to be myself, to have a sense of humour and to be brave. Three hugely important life lessons and what a wonderful trio of people to teach them.

Who are your heroes? I'd love to know.

Books vs Kindle

This debate has been raging for quite some time now and I'm forever seeing tweets about the subject.

There are some people who seem to be riding a perilously high horse by refusing to buy a Kindle because "books are better, no contest, end of story". They seem to have the belief that by not buying an e-reader they will single handedly stop the decline of books and that anyone with a Kindle must be killed with fire.

I simply do not understand this line of thought.

Along with a boy named Dominic, I was top of my class when it came to spelling and reading. As a little girl I devoured every single Enid Blyton book like Malory Towers or The Famous Five. As a pre-teen I couldn't get enough of Sweet Valley High and when I was 13 I discovered the glorious Discworld and it's wonderful inhabitants all created by Terry Pratchett.

In short, I have always enjoyed reading and it's fair to say I have a strong love of books. I don't want to see them die out but, to put it simply, I love my Kindle more.

Rich bought me a Kindle when I started dialysis. I cannot begin to tell you how boring it is to be attached to a machine by two needles unable to move for FOUR hours three times a week. It is essential to keep the arm with the needles completely still during treatment. My fistula (the bit they put the needles in) is in my left wrist which made holding a book and turning the pages impossible. Ok, not impossible but very difficult. I have seen many fellow patients attempt to read a book only to give up after losing their page too many times or dropping it on the floor. If you think I'm being ridiculous, sit in a chair and try and read a book using only your right hand to hold it and turn the pages. Yes, you could put the book on your lap every time you need to turn a page but imagine trying to do that for four hours, especially with a hardback.

Rather than having to watch four hours of brain rotting daytime tv, the Kindle meant I could transport myself away from my current world of dialysis to all kinds of places. I could hold it comfortably with one hand and turn the pages with the click of a button helpfully placed exactly where my thumb rested. I was able to read the Lord of the Rings which I would never have done in paperback because it's such a beast. The Kindle store also allows authors to publish their own works without needing a contract. Thanks to this I discovered several authors I would never have even heard of. Everything that is no longer under copyright is free so books such as Dracula and anything involving Sherlock Holmes can be downloaded for nothing more than the cost of your time. Of course you could go the library for free books but there is no guarantee they will have what you're looking for and if you're late returning it then you better be prepared to pay the fee.

The Kindle works wirelessly with no need for cables. I was incredibly lucky in that my dialysis unit offered free wifi to patients so every time I finished a True Blood novel or a Detective Jackson Mystery, I could connect to Amazon through the Kindle and download the next book in the series. Right there, in my chair still attached to the machine.

I would have loved a Kindle when I lived in London. I always read on my commute but carrying a heavy book around would sometimes prove difficult. There were also two occasions that my journey was delayed and I finished my book leaving me with nothing to do but read the thrilling adverts on the Tube. With a Kindle you can carry practically limitless books with you at all times on a near weightless device.

The only issue I have with the Kindle is the cost of some of the books. There are always offers and deals in place to get cheap books and I've already spoken about how many freebies there are but newer releases are priced at nearly the same as the hard copy. This isn't a fault with the Kindle itself but more to do with publishers. Either way, I fail to comprehend how a 2kb downloadable file that essentially is free to create and doesn't require delivery or storage space can cost the same as a weighty hardback that needs to be printed, shipped and stacked on a shelf.

I will always treasure the books I do have and one day I hope I'm fortunate enough to have a home library where I can proudly display them all. I will have a huge chair and an open fire so I can sit and read for hours and hours. However, I will need to win the Lotto first!

The Kindle changed my life for the better by making dialysis bearable. It gave me access to new and otherwise unpublished authors as well as enabling me to try out new genres. I'm not saying that a Kindle is for everyone but I'd really appreciate it if people could stop making out that I'm a heathen because I own one.