Diana in “Unfinished Business”

Stop this quaintly dotty non-sequential stuff, this phony senility. It won’t wash with me. You’re quite capable of logical reasoning so just stop trying to fill the role of the charmingly barmy old codger. You want to watch out – they’ll start believing it’s the real you. They’ll start patting you on the knee and talking slowly and carefully. And then you’ll start nodding and smiling and then they’ll be saying you’re not long for this world, you’ve had a good run for your money and you won’t want to disappoint them so you’ll have a stroke just to be obliging. And then when you’re paralysed and dribbling, they’ll start talking at you even louder and because you can’t reply they’ll think you can’t think or hear either so they won’t even leave the room when they discuss how they’ll redecorate it after you’ve gone. And hasn’t anyone asked the quack how much longer you’ll be and aren’t you being a bit selfish hanging on for yet another winter and don’t you realise there’s another generation knocking at the door?