Author: Peter

Chair of trustees Reflections

7 March: visit from Thorntree Primary School

by Peter, posted in Friends Group

We had a great session today. 30 Friends came, supported by 7 team members.

We were delighted to welcome 27 young people from Thorntree school, supported by three adults (including the headteacher, Miss Fenwick).

This was the initiative of Elle, whose great grand mother attends Reflections. Knowing that we do not receive funding, she asked the school if she and her classmates could be sponsored to dance for the group. Elle, shown in the middle of the photo below, also choreographed the dance.*

The pupils performed a great dance routine and then mingled with the group – they even provided goody-bags for all, which included sweets and a tea bag – so thoughtful.

It was lovely to see the younger and older generations mixing together. The children were polite, well mannered and a credit to their school.

One of our Friends is seen here demonstrating his juggling skills to a rapt audience.

It was an excellent event, which everyone enjoyed. Thank you to eveyone involved and to Elle, in particular, for coming up with the idea and making sure it happened.

Thank you to Miss Fenwick and all those participating for their enthusiasm, engagement and fun. We look forward to welcoming you back in the future.

Prior to their arrival, the Greenwich Commissioning Officer visited. She had heard about our group and wanted to find out more about what we were doing. She said the team were doing fantastic work and it was a very well run group.

All-in-all a great day.

* The school confirmed consent had been given for photos to be taken and used on our web site. I have blurred the faces of Friends.

Carers Group –  Good news update

by Peter, posted in Carers Group

We know it can be difficult for carers to leave the person with dementia so we are pleased to announce, by prior arrangement, we are able to support a person with dementia alongside the carers’ group.

This is all thanks to Julie and Marie, two of our lovely team members who have offered their services. You can meet them here.  Julie and Marie will interact with people in the same way they do at the Friendship group and similar activities will be provided such as playing games – dominoes is very popular –  doing word searches and adult coloring.

Spaces at present are limited to 4 people and must be booked in advance. It is also a requirement the person with dementia is comfortable being in a separate room to their carer.

Please telephone the Reflections team on 07981 741 499 if you are interested. Places can be booked up to and including the morning the group takes place.

David Baddiel on C4: The Trouble with Dad [Pick’s disease]

by Peter, posted in External Links

(This programme is available to watch on 4OD until 19 March 2017)

We just caught up with the recent Chanel 4 programme: The Trouble with Dad. It’s well worth a watch, although I should warn you there is lots of very strong language.

C4 say: “David Baddiel’s dad Colin has Pick’s disease. This intimate, moving and sometimes funny documentary explores the impact that Colin’s condition has on his sons’ relationship with him.”

You can find clips here

And a Radio Times article here

The changes that occur with Pick’s disease, also known as Frontotemporal dementia, can affect peoples behaviour and speech.

For more information about this form of dementia see the Alzheimer’s Society information pages here

A fact sheet is also available here

June’s Oral History Project

by Peter, posted in Activities

June is in the process of setting up a small project to record the fascinating memories of some of our group members.

I spoke to June yesterday about her ideas and signed-up to be part of the work. Janet and I have been doing some work on oral histories with family and friends, this looks like a great next step to that work.

Thank you to Phil for telling us about oral history work. Capturing memories now, means they can be played back in the future, perhaps at a time when a person is less able to recall them.

If you would like to know more about the project see here

21 February

by Peter, posted in Friends Group

Today we had a great Friendship Group session at Shrewsbury House. Tony gave us another wonderful all-singing-and-dancing hour. The group singing was loud – so Tony, we think you are going to need some amplification. Lovely to see the ladies in the wheelchairs joining-in.

Tony 2102

I blurred some faces in the picture to ensure privacy – and sorry to those whom I couldn’t squeeze in.

Good to see Kathy and Kim return. Amazing to see Kathy dance the afternoon away, even with a bad back.

32 Friends came today, plus all our lovely volunteers. Welcome to Marie, our newest team member, on her first visit – hopefully the first of many. Joan was busy elsewhere, so she volunteered to sharpen all the pencils this evening!

Thanks to Matthew for the tasty choice of food in the cafe, I certainly enjoyed my sandwich and coffee.

Hope to see you all in two weeks.

psig-1

Dementia Friends session

by Peter, posted in Activities, Carers Group, Dementia Friends, Events

I plan to run another Dementia Friends session on 18th April. The session will help you learn more about what it is like to live with dementia and turn that understanding into action. If you are interested in coming along please e-mail me on reflectionsgreenwich@gmail.com.

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[Dementia Friends Champion]

You can find more information about Dementia Friends here.

7th February Friendship Group

by Peter, posted in Activities

Bingo arrives!

Thanks to Caroline for donating the state-of-the-art Bingo equipment and doing the calling at today’s session. Thanks also to David for testing out our cut-down version of a Beetle Drive (all Beetle, no Drive).

Another great turn-out today. We welcomed three new friends to the group and had 25 friends in total. There were seven members of the Reflections team to keep things moving.