FARNHAM hosted an array of events for Dementia Awareness Week in the fight to find a cure and create more of an understanding about the disease.

Organised by the Farnham Dementia Action Alliance (FDAA) in partnership with the Farnham Maltings, the week highlighted activities for those living with dementia and opportunities for everyone to find out more about the disease.

Health Secretary and Conservative parliamentary candidate for South West Surrey, Jeremy Hunt, attended the Dementia Friends free training day which took place last Friday at the Maltings.

This aimed to highlight how to deal with dementia as a carer, family member or friend - and with more training days planned this summer it’s not too late to book in.

The week started with Singing for the Mind, a sing-along led by professional singer Barbara Rayner. A jovial way to bring those living with dementia together with music, group singing has been shown to boost brain activity and play an important part in slowing the progress of dementia.

Singing for the Mind runs weekly at the Maltings every Monday at 1.30pm, excluding bank holidays. To find out more or book a place, call Farnham Maltings on 01252 745444.

Last Tuesday saw a dementia-friendly ‘cage cricket’ session at Farnham Leisure Centre, throwing all sorts of people together in the name of awareness.

And on Saturday, the Alzheimers Society and the FDAA teamed up to talk to shoppers in Lion & Lamb Yard, including Mr Hunt’s Lib Dem rival Ollie Purkiss who pledged his support for the fight against Alzheimer’s.

Alastair Shanks, managing director of Right at Home and chairman of FDAA, said: “The week went really well and offered a variety of events, keeping active and creating a social environment for dementia sufferers is key,” and with the success of the cricket session, he hopes this could also become a weekly event.

On Thursday the focus was to get local businesses joining across the town, with Halifax, Boots and The Bush Hotel among those to sign up, meaning the staff will all have a degree of training, in dealing and helping those with dementia, ensuring security and positive social interactions for both sufferers and carers.

‘A memory walk’ finished the week off on Sunday at a brisk pace with more locals uniting to raise money and awareness for the cause while taking in town’s landmarks and history. To find out more about memory walks and how you can register or volunteer with walks local to you, visit the website at www.memorywalk.org.uk/ or call 0300 330 5452.

The FDAA aims to make Farnham friendlier and more accessible for everyone who is living with dementia and their carers. It does this by supporting and encouraging all organisations and business in Farnham to be dementia friendly; to increase awareness and access to services that support people living with dementia, and to ensure employers actively support their employees who are carers of people living with dementia.

Dementia Awareness Week is organised by the Alzheimer’s Society, the UK’s leading dementia support and research charity, and seeks to unite people in creating and sharing their own outlooks of the disease.

For more information, or to sign up to Farnham Dementia Action Alliance, email [email protected]. Alternatively call Alastair Shanks of care provider Right at Home on 07891 185199 or email [email protected].