On 8th October a meeting was held at the Purple Angel Memory Café for folks suffering with dementia. The café is based at the Barton Baptist Church in Torquay and that’s where a group of Torquay Soroptimist’s arrived on Saturday at 2pm.
The atmosphere was very natural and friendly and we were soon introduced to everyone.
We delivered our colourful collection of Twiddlemuffs as gifts for the group. We explained how to use them and took them round for everyone to investigate and choose one to take home. There were happy faces all round – time to go? No the fun was just about to start!
We joined in games from the past, ate sweets from the past, completed a quiz, concentrated on a word search, played musical instruments, sang and ate tea and cake! You couldn’t help but feel happy. There was a tinge of sadness but then we discovered that the energetic gentleman leading the meeting with his wife was actually Norman MacNamara. He was diagnosed with a form of dementia six years ago and he’s proof that life can be worth living. He’s a star. His vision and commitment have driven the global organisation for the Purple Angel Memory Cafes.
I drove home singing “Walking back to happiness with you oo-oo-oo”
PS More information about Norman and the amazing organisation he started will follow soon.
