Dementia Actif host Dwyfor & Meirionydd DEEP United
Dementia Actif is a Gwynedd Council project which supports people living with dementia and carers to promote an enriched quality of life through physical activity. Dementia Actif joined forces with Bangor University’s Centre for Aging and Dementia Research to look at establishing a DEEP group connecting people in rural south Gwynedd.
Following an initial meeting it was decided to form Dwyfor & Meirionydd DEEP United based at the Dragon Theatre in Barmouth, a central location with excellent train links. The group is a mix of people living with dementia, carers and professionals many of who are bilingual English and Welsh speakers and there on average 25 who attend. Prior to the COVID 19 pandemic, the meeting was on a quarterly basis from 11:00-2:00pm- lunch included!
On February 18th 2019, the group were delighted to have the opportunity to work with poet and play write Patrick Jones. Patrick has been commissioned by the Royal College of Psychiatrists to produce work with people affected by dementia called ‘This is My Truth Tell Me Yours’ ( also the name of a Manic Street Preachers album and Patrick is the brother to Nicky Wire bass guitarist for the Manics). Patrick created a wonderful atmosphere that had everyone contributing either with shared memories, words and poetry. After smelling a jar of soap handed around by Patrick to invite a memory, Douglas Hughes’s wrote this poem –
‘My dear old Granny, full of hope
To clean her floor with carbolic soap.
She’d scrub and polish for hours on end,
Carbolic soap was her god-send!
Shiny clean Ruabon tiles,
A certain route to Granny’s smiles.
Memories from a by-gone age,
When dirty boots cause ‘Granny-rage’!
Since the Covid 19 pandemic the group has not been meeting, as it was felt that bringing such a large group of people together from all areas of Gwynedd was not safe. However, during 2021 the Dementia Actif Team have recommenced physical activity classes including gardening sessions and exercise classes throughout the county and continue to deliver online activities. It is hoped that the DEEP United group will reconvene by the summer of 2022 with a relaunch as part of the DEEP 10 year celebrations.
In April 2021, Dementia Actif Gwynedd worked in collaboration with dance company Dawns i Bawb ( Dance for all) to launch a short film depicting a dance performance to the music of Swan Lake. The aim of the performance was to celebrate the fact that the Team had stayed in contact and supported members during the first 12 months of the pandemic, and also to remember those whom we had lost. The film shows members during the online dance sessions and staff performing in some beautiful local locations.
News from DEEP United and DementiaGo https://www.dementiavoices.org.uk/dementiago-and-deep-united-are-dodging-the-tourists-but-doing-tremendous-stufft/
Latest news (November 2020) https://www.dementiavoices.org.uk/update-from-dementia-go-deep-united-its-all-happening-in-wales-with-a-bit-of-elvis-too/
Visit Dementia Actif website here https://www.dementiaactifgwynedd.cymru/en/raising-awareness/about.html
Contact Emma Quaeck, DementiaGo Manager
