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Recent & current projects

Funshops by John

I ran Funshops involving members of the Scottish Dementia Working Group in five day centres in Scotland (Dundee, Forfar, Stonehaven) during 2009 and 2010. Each group was made up of 8 or 9 persons with dementia (many belonging to a younger age group than is usual) and 2 to 3 members of the staff of Alzheimer Scotland Branches. I called them Funshops because they were workshops devoted to fun. Running them was a steep learning curve for me. By the end I was convinced that they were an important kind of activity for people living with dementia.

The process involves drama games and improvisations, and everything occurs in the moment. It gives an opportunity to relax in a supportive atmosphere. It frees people up to say and do things spontaneously. Seeing the funny side is a respite from confronting change and reminds people of what they have in common. A group identity is quickly built up, and a real sense of closeness emerges. As one participant put it “I wouldn’t miss this for the world. I’m with my friends here and we’re all having a wonderful time.”

You can see a short video made at a Funshop by clicking on the link below.





Funshop video

picture of Courtyard Theatre Poetry in Herefordshire

We are excited to announce that John commenced a major piece of work in Herfordshire in April 2011. He is Poet in Residence for the Courtyard Theatre, Hereford and the Ledbury Poetry Festival until early July. He will be training and mentoring four poets to work creatively with people with dementia in four of the county's towns: Bromyard, Ross-on-Wye, Leominster and Ledbury. His residency will culminate in a talk/reaading at the Festival on Monday 4th July in the Burgoyne Hall at 3pm.

various images Kate's PhD

For various reasons it is a VERY long time since I had any news, but as it is now official - I will start a PhD at St Andrews University in September 2011!

My subject will be the experience of flow in persons with dementia, particularly in the context of creative activities.

The following quotation describing two women with dementia engaged with a creative task is a perfect illustration:

Neither required much guidance as they became absorbed in the challenge. They were totally occupied with the task, showing increased concentration and improved communication skills throughout the sessions. Noticeably, word finding and fluency seemed to improve as they were under no direct pressure to converse or give opinions. Conversation was spontaneous and humour flowed.

(Benham L (2008) A sensory stairwell. Journal of Dementia Care, 16(5), 16-17.)

I am so excited about this! It will bring together many strands of interests from over the years, and give me the ideal opportunity to do what I love best - meet amazing people doing great things, read, think, explore, share and write. My plan is to keep you up to date with developments on our blog, so watch that space!

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