Once again, Rachel went to take mum out for an outing while Alison secretly cleaned the house. Once again, mum wouldn't cooperate with Rachel.

Mum objected to Rachel's attempt to make a cup of tea, and when Rachel called me to mollify mum over the phone she wouldn't take the handset. She hung up, and then took the phone off the hook so that I couldn't call back. She then kicked Rachel out and pottered around on her own (watched by me on the webcam) inside the locked house.

Rachel had stood aside as the Meals on Wheels people attempted to cajole mum into letting them in. They were unsuccessful too, and took the meals away with them.

Nothing else for it; we need to change the plan. From 16 January Alison will now visit on Tuesdays, and Rachel will take both mum and dad out between 1:30 and 3:30. Two factors may make this plan more successful than the current one - mum is more malleable in the afternoon, and dad's presence might help to complicate the interpersonal dynamics and prevent mum from seeing Rachel's visit as a one-on-one confrontation.

There's not much else we can do.