There’s still time to book a free place on our free Caring in Lockdown event. Further information or to book your place on 24^th June or 1^st July here.

Our Happy Days Memory Café now offers a teleconference reminiscence call every Friday 2-3pm. This is great as people living with Dementia and their carers can be on the call and we can even call them if the phone is too difficult. Please let us know if you’d like to join us by emailing office@bdaa.org.uk. Alive Activities hosts the event along with Tony.

We hosted our first Facebook Live with Tina dancing with her PomPoms on 11th June. You can watch the replay on our Happy Days Facebook page

We’ve seen fantastic ‘results’ from specific MP3 players so I thought I’d share a little more about them. In our area, they are being used in hospitals and care homes. The music is specific to the person and is a great soother. You can watch Norrms video explaining more here. If you’d like more information either contact us for the information sheets or to discuss having some MP3 players or contact Norrms direct on norrms@gmail.com

A 10 min audio – by Subitha (who works closely with BDAA) – to support grieving by some mindfulness and self-care is now on the CASS website, along with the CASS Grief booklet. Both available via this post on the website: http://www.cassbristol.org/coping-with-grief/. Please note that many of us are grieving in lockdown for our previous life, loss of close contact with loved ones etc.

Brave Bold Drama is doing some work with people living with dementia during lockdown. They are working on a through-the-post multi-sensory seaside experience for care home residents (or for people who live in their own homes and have a spouse or family member as a carer) called “Beside the Sea.” https://bravebolddrama.co.uk/community/intergenerational.html

Bristol Council’s guidance on Covid-19 (https://www.bristol.gov.uk/crime-emergencies/coronavirus-covid-19-what-you-need-to-know) is updated daily.

We love MindHarp and they are running some free weekly events https://mindharp.world/workshops

This article is has some good information about easing lockdown and anxiety: https://patient.info/news-and-features/how-to-get-over-a-fear-of-leaving-lockdown

The ss Great Britain has some great offerings:

Explore the SS Great Britain from your living room: step aboard the world’s first great ocean liner with our virtual tour. Navigate through saloons and cabins including the lavish First Class Dining Saloon and cramped quarters of steerage. www.ssgreatbritain.org/virtualtour

Watch museum curators bring collection stories to life: engage with our series of virtual Archive in Five sessions. This growing collection of videos includes discovering what first class passengers ate during voyages, and hearing about Brunel’s magic trick. www.ssgreatbritain.org/VAi5

There is much more ‘stuff to do at home’ at https://www.ssgreatbritain.org/brunel-institute/learning/stuff-do-home, including a make your own Victorian game in the ‘design and make’ section and a digital jigsaw, colouring sheets and even a video game – Full Steam Ahead.