Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

The DAPPLE Project @dappleproject.bsky.social · 7d

🫖 NEW BLOG POST 🫖
How do you take yours? This week, Richard and Jo talk about tea, and how sharing a cuppa with friends, family and colleagues is so important to feel connected and valued.

www.dappleproject.com/post/33-how-...

33. How do you take yours?

We quite like making cups of tea in our office and we have a bit of a joke in the office about Jo’s tea-making skills. She hasn’t quite got it right yet and is still, after years of being at Kingston ...

www.dappleproject.com

The DAPPLE Project @dappleproject.bsky.social · 13d

Last week, some of our team left their inboxes behind and took part in an academic writing retreat!

In this week’s blog, Becky Anderson-Kittow shares what happened when we swapped our desks for the countryside…

Read Becky's blog here www.dappleproject.com/post/32-a-da...

32. A DAPPLE Project writing retreat

Last week, some of our research team went away on a writing retreat in North Yorkshire. Like some of our team, you may be wondering, What is a writing retreat? This was a chance for us to get away fro...

www.dappleproject.com

The DAPPLE Project @dappleproject.bsky.social · 21d

In this week’s DAPPLE blog, Richard Keagan-Bull explains how the Better Care Before Death co-production group chose their name, and what inspired him to design the group’s logo

Read Richard’s blog here
👉 www.dappleproject.com/post/31-bett...

31. Better Care Before Death Group: Choosing our name, designing our logo

In The DAPPLE project, we work with a co-production group of people with a learning disability. The group works with us to understand what we are finding out from the research, and how to make it bett...

www.dappleproject.com

1

The DAPPLE Project @dappleproject.bsky.social · Sep 4

🎉 NEW BLOG POST 🎉
On 1 September 2025, the DAPPLE Project turned 1! In today’s blog post, @tuffrey-wijne.com and Becky Anderson-Kittow look back on the past year and reflect on the progress, challenges, and highlights of the project’s journey so far. www.dappleproject.com/post/blog-29...

Blog 29. Happy first birthday to the DAPPLE Project!

Irene says:This is a study I have wanted to do for a very long time. My previous studies have focused on the experiences of people with a learning disability at the end of life; their information and ...

www.dappleproject.com

1

The DAPPLE Project @dappleproject.bsky.social · Aug 22

🤗NEW BLOG POST🤗
In this week’s powerful blog, @tuffrey-wijne.com reflects on her early research career. She explores the privilege of witnessing people’s lives and stories and why saying YES to research can be meaningful for everyone involved.
www.dappleproject.com/post/28-i-m-...

28. “I’m glad she got to tell her story before it was too late”: Why people might say YES to being in the DAPPLE study

The year was 2006. I was about to embark on what would turn out to be a research-career-defining study. I wanted to spend time with people with a learning disability who had cancer, to try and see the...

www.dappleproject.com

1

The DAPPLE Project @dappleproject.bsky.social · Aug 15

📃NEW BLOG POST!📃
In this week's blog, Fred shares our published protocol - this is our plan for DAPPLE. There are also some links to other ways you can find out more about what we are doing on the DAPPLE Project.
www.dappleproject.com/post/27-the-...

27. The DAPPLE Project Protocol: Now Published!

We are delighted to share that the protocol for The DAPPLE Study has just been published in BMJ Open. You can read the protocol here.So, what does this mean? Essentially, the protocol is the blueprin...

www.dappleproject.com

1

The DAPPLE Project @dappleproject.bsky.social · Jul 30

📄 New paper alert! 📄
Our protocol paper for DAPPLE has been published 🎉 You can read it below. It’s open access and sets out what we’re doing and how we’ll do it.
bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/7...

bmjopen.bmj.com

2 1

The DAPPLE Project @dappleproject.bsky.social · Jul 24

👀 NEW BLOG POST 👀

This week, Francesca Horne shares a video about the Sawubona 'I see you' Forum she attended in May which was all about equity and compassion in end-of-life care. Check it out here...

www.dappleproject.com/post/25-sawu...

25. Sawubona (I See You) National Forum Conference

On May 6th, I had the privilege of attending the Sawubona National Forum, a powerful gathering dedicated to transforming palliative and end-of-life care through the lens of equity, compassion, and inc...

www.dappleproject.com

The DAPPLE Project @dappleproject.bsky.social · Jul 18

🛳️“It was like being on a cruise!” 🛳️

Mo usually doesn’t enjoy conferences. He feels they are often not inclusive for people with a learning disability. In this week's blog, Mo shares how the PCPLD Network Conference was different.

👉 Read Mo’s blog here:
www.dappleproject.com/post/24-conf...

24. Conferences can feel like a long haul flight… but this was like a cruise!

Hello everyone! My name is Mo. I am a Research Assistant in the Learning Disability Research Team at Kingston University. I don’t work on The DAPPLE Project. I work on another project called The RE...

www.dappleproject.com

The DAPPLE Project @dappleproject.bsky.social · Jul 10

💬 NEW BLOG POST 💬
This week our project manager Christina talks about the challenge of jargon when trying to set up a research project. Using long words and acronyms leaves people out, even though it might seem quicker or easier if you're an expert.
www.dappleproject.com/post/24-gett...

24. Getting the rubber stamp to do research in the NHS: first we need to do some jargon-busting.

When we first started setting up the biggest part of the DAPPLE study (listening to people’s stories) we knew there would be hurdles. After all, we’re trying to do something sensitive and important: l...

www.dappleproject.com

The DAPPLE Project @dappleproject.bsky.social · Jul 3

📢 New Blog!

What can we learn from conversations 'in the wild'?

Introducing a new pilot study, Andrea Bruun delves into the potential of Conversation Analysis to explore conversations involving people with learning disabilities in palliative care settings.

www.dappleproject.com/post/23-vide...

22. Video-recording conversations in a hospice: The PallComm pilot study

I am really into how we communicate with each other. So much that I have specialised in analysing communication. My background is in Linguistics (a fancy word for language science), and on my course I...

www.dappleproject.com

1 3

The DAPPLE Project @dappleproject.bsky.social · Jun 26

🔢 NEW BLOG POST! 🔢
This week's post is from Dr Freya Tyrer who is crunching the numbers for DAPPLE. Freya introduces herself and her work here...
www.dappleproject.com/post/21-all-...

21. All about the numbers

Freya Tyrer is leading on the “big numbers” part of the DAPPLE project. In this blog post, she tells us what the numbers are saying about how people with learning disabilities experience end-of-life c...

www.dappleproject.com

1

Reposted by The DAPPLE Project

Irene Tuffrey-Wijne @tuffrey-wijne.com · Jun 20

Look, a conference about dying, death & learning disability can be joyous and inclusive! Yesterday, we listened, shed tears and danced. Thank you everyone who helped make this happen!
#PCPLD2025
@kingstonuniversity.bsky.social
@dappleproject.bsky.social

2 2

The DAPPLE Project @dappleproject.bsky.social · Jun 19

This #LearningDisabilityWeek we’re highlighting how important it is that every person with a learning disability is seen, heard, and valued at the end of their life.

Irene Tuffrey-Wijne asks what changes YOU would like to see to help make this happen.

www.dappleproject.com/post/getting...

20. Getting our head around stakeholders

Are you a DAPPLE stakeholder? You are reading this blog, so the answer is YES! But what is a stakeholder? And why do we want to know more about them – about you, and all our other stakeholders? We ha...

www.dappleproject.com

The DAPPLE Project @dappleproject.bsky.social · Jun 12

📢 New Blog! 📢

This week’s DAPPLE Blog comes from Andrea Bruun, who recently gave 4️⃣ presentations at the European Association for Palliative Care World Congress (EAPC) 2025!

You can read Andrea's blog here:

www.dappleproject.com/post/19-dapp...

19. DAPPLE at the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) 2025

From 29-31 May, the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) held their 19th World Congress in Helsinki in Finland with the theme “Ready for the future”. I was lucky enough to go, so let me tel...

www.dappleproject.com

1 1

The DAPPLE Project @dappleproject.bsky.social · Jun 5

🎉 Celebrating the Cuppa Tea With Richard podcast at The Shard! 🎙️✨

Read the latest DAPPLE blog, where Sunny and Richard share their experience of Afternoon Tea from the 33rd floor...

www.dappleproject.com/post/richard...

Richard’s Cuppa tea celebration for his podcast

Richard and the podcast team – Irene, Jonny, Anastasia and Jo - won an award at Kingston University. The award was for being ‘innovative’. We were given some money (£500) to celebrate. We had to spend...

www.dappleproject.com

The DAPPLE Project @dappleproject.bsky.social · May 15

🗨️ NEW BLOG POST! 🗨️

DAPPLE Research Assistant Richard is often interviewing people for his Podcast. This time, he was in the hot seat! In this week’s blog, Richard shares his recent appearance on The Sui-Ling Show.

www.dappleproject.com/post/17-rich...

17. Richard appears on The Sui-Ling Show

I am used to interviewing people for my Podcast 'Cuppa Tea with Richard'. Recently, it was my turn to be in the hot seat, when I appeared as a guest on MacIntyre's The Sui-Ling Show!Sui-Ling is a mem...

www.dappleproject.com

1 1

Reposted by The DAPPLE Project

Irene Tuffrey-Wijne @tuffrey-wijne.com · Apr 25

Richard sits down with the brilliant & hilarious Mel Giedroyc for a heart-warming, witty conversation that covers everything from Eurovision to writing books & dream dinner party guests. Their instant connection and infectious humour are guaranteed to lift your spirits soundcloud.com/cuppa-tea-wi...

Ep. 13: Mel Giedroyc

New Episode Drop! Richard sits down with the brilliant and hilarious Mel Giedroyc for a heartwarming and witty conversation that covers everything from the glitz of the Eurovision Song Contest to the

soundcloud.com

1 2 6

The DAPPLE Project @dappleproject.bsky.social · May 8

🎧 NEW BLOG POST 🎧
Did you know that our research assistant, Richard, hosts an award-winning podcast? This week, he reflects on recording an episode with special guest Mel Giedroyc.

www.dappleproject.com/post/16-i-fe...

16. “I felt a warmth between us”: Recording an episode of my podcast, A Cuppa tea with Richard, with Mel Giedroyc

My name is Richard Keagan-Bull. I am a research assistant with a learning disability, and I work at Kingston University. I host a podcast where I chat to guests over a cuppa tea. I’m writing this blo...

www.dappleproject.com

The DAPPLE Project @dappleproject.bsky.social · May 1

📚 NEW BLOG POST! 📚
In this week’s blog post, Liz Tilley reflects on the role that stories might play in helping to improve care for people with learning disabilities at the end of life.

www.dappleproject.com/post/15-the-...

15. The power of stories

What leads to real improvement in how people with learning disabilities are supported by health and care services? And how do we know that things are getting better, rather than staying the same (or g...

www.dappleproject.com

1 1 3

The DAPPLE Project @dappleproject.bsky.social · Apr 24

NEW BLOG POST! What will comfort you at the end of your life? In this week's blog, Fred Inglis shares how this question inspired our creative workshops, engaging people with a learning disability in Yorkshire.
www.dappleproject.com/post/14-what...

14. What will comfort you at the end of your life?

Last month, the DAPPLE team held three creative workshops in Yorkshire as part of our Co-production ‘Roadshows’ (so-named by my colleague Richard as an homage to the Radio 1 summer events). A wide ran...

www.dappleproject.com

1 1

Reposted by The DAPPLE Project

Irene Tuffrey-Wijne @tuffrey-wijne.com · Apr 23

Brilliant day at work today! A delight to listen to the chat between Richard and Mel Giedroyc for his podcast
soundcloud.com/cuppa-tea-wi...
Watch this space...!

1 7

The DAPPLE Project @dappleproject.bsky.social · Apr 17

NEW BLOG! 👒 In this blog, Jo Giles thinks about how the 'hat game' (that the team are often known for), can stop people seeing the in-depth work the co-production team does. Read on to get a peek behind the scenes.
www.dappleproject.com/post/14-we-a...

14. We are more than just the 'Hat Game'!

I’ve become aware that our team has become known for our hat game. I know… we post a lot of pictures with people in funny hats, so it’s not surprising. But it’s begun to worry me. You see, we are so m...

www.dappleproject.com

The DAPPLE Project @dappleproject.bsky.social · Apr 10

📢 NEW BLOG POST 📢

"People with a learning disability can be lights that shine in a research team”.

Sunny Sokhal reflects on why he became a researcher and the difference people with a learning disability can make to projects.

www.dappleproject.com/post/12-i-ha...

12. I have a learning disability. This is why I became a researcher.

People with a learning disability need to be involved in research. Especially when the topic is so important – The DAPPLE Project is about life and death! I became a researcher because I want people...

www.dappleproject.com

Reposted by The DAPPLE Project

Irene Tuffrey-Wijne @tuffrey-wijne.com · Mar 28

What will comfort you at the end of your life?
Magical week of workshops in Yorkshire! 😍
Thank you St Anne’s Community Services
@dappleproject.bsky.social

2 3