World Alzheimer’s Day on Tuesday 21st September 2021 is a global opportunity to raise awareness around, educate, encourage support of and demystify dementia.
To mark this important day, Tom and Tim on the Kickstart Team for the Arts for Health and Wellbeing Programme arranged an virtual afternoon of activities for the patients with Alzheimer’s at St David’s Hospital, with the support of Mental Health Matters.
Tom and Tim spent the afternoon encouraging patients to reminisce over the history of Cardiff and share their individual memories of the city.
The activity focused on the recognisable landmarks of Cardiff including Queen Street, Victoria Park and Cardiff Bay, which patients had personal connections to and were able to share their experiences when growing up and explain how much it had changed over the years.
The Patients really appreciated the ability to look back over some old places around Cardiff and call back on memories they hadn’t thought about in years.
“The patients engaged and interacted with Tom and Tim who prompted their individual memories and experiences with a series of historical landmarks and significant events in Cardiff. Individual patients recalled their father driving on tram buses, the tracks of which are now buried under the road. One lady shared stories of sixpence hidden in Christmas puddings, bringing luck to the person who finds it in their bowl. The same lady helped her husband run Casablanca and Casino Club in Tiger Bay. Memories of homes, trips to parks, zoos and Woolworths brought smiles, as well as trips to Weston-super-Mare on the Waverly.”
-Sally Varrall, Mental Health Matters
The event was supported by Brutons the Bakers and Home Bargains in Canton who kindly donated a section of delicious cakes for patients to enjoy during the session.
