This year has been particularly tough for people living with dementia.
Nationally, there has been an increase of more than 50 per cent in excess deaths for those with the condition, not related to Covid.
That is one of the reasons, the support of Admiral Nurse Tracy Handsford has played an increasingly important role for families in the Sid Valley.
In 2015, a joint campaign by the Sid Valley Memory Café, the Sidmouth Herald, the community, together with the support of several trusts, the National Lottery and other organisations raised more than £100,000 to fund an Admiral Nurse for the valley.
The first Admiral Nurse, who works under the guidance of Dementia UK and The Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust, arrived in Sidmouth in March 2017.
The Memory Café has also been playing its part in keeping members socially active during the pandemic.
In November, the café delivered a cream tea to all of its members to celebrate the anniversary of its launch in 2010.
Meanwhile, earlier this week a virtual, festive Christmas Party was organised. In other news, Duncan Watt, who has chaired the Board of Trustees over the past eight years, has retired and Adrian Ford will be chairing the charity during 2021. Adrian said: “Duncan will be a hard act to follow, but we are determined to grow the Memory Café’s role here in the valley and continue to raise the funds for our Admiral Nurse.”
Two of the other founding Trustees, Dr Louise Knight and Linda Archard were also required to stand down, but all of the vacancies on the board have now been filled.
Should you want to volunteer to help or donate, please contact Angela Thompson (01395 577 394) (amthompson55@hotmail.com) or Adrian Ford (01395 578 248) (adrianpford@live.co.uk). For more information about the Sid Valley Memory Café go to www.sidvalleymemorycafe.co.uk