We can’t believe it has been around 5 years since our last Memory Fest Event, that took place in Cornwall and since then we have relocated to Suffolk and are now settled in the lovely village of Wetheringsett-cum-Brockford.
We better give you a bit of background to our ‘baby’, so, in January 2016, Memory Fest was born as a result of our personal experiences with this terrible condition. My parents were fighting with this, with mum looking after my dad who had been diagnosed with early onset Mixed Dementia – Alzheimer’s/Vascular on 20 March 2013 after having an assessment and brain scan. Their lives had changed dramatically and until you are affected by this condition it is difficult to really understand just how much upset it does cause.
Cathy, at the time, worked with dementia clients on a daily basis, and had first-hand experience of how it not only affects the client but also their family.
Our first Event, was in May 2016, a Classic Rock live concert, which took place in Club Bliss, Kirkintilloch, just outside Glasgow, Scotland. This gig raised an amazing figure with monies being split between Alzheimer Scotland and Dementia UK.
Sadly, during the summer of 2016 my dad’s condition deteriorated very rapidly and he passed away on 12 September that year. This didn’t meant that we gave up our aim of raising awareness for Alzheimer’s and Dementia and in the process, more funds for some of the organisations that work in this area.
In October 2016, our second Memory Fest Event took place in Oban, Scotland, in conjunction with Elinor’s “Challenge to Remember” project. This time, however the theme was Glam Rock with Fancy Dress and the monies raised went to Alzheimer’s Research UK.
The third event, Memory Fest ‘17 was back in Club Bliss again with Classic Rock and took place in April 2017. The funds this time going solely to Alzheimer Scotland.
We must also remember the challenge Elinor set for herself in 2018, when living and working in London as a nanny. Elinor decided to take on something different: a “Skydive to Remember.” Leaping out of a plane thousands of feet in the air was both terrifying and exhilarating for her, but knowing it was for such an important cause made it all worthwhile, and she smiled all the way through it, raising a brilliant amount of around £700 for Alzheimer’s Society.
Due to some health issues of my own during the back end of 2017 and early 2018, resulting in a relocation to Cornwall at the end of 2018 we had a gap of a couple of years, however had planned to launch Memory Fest – Cornwall at The Lugger Inn, Penzance …. Covid put a stop to that, however not to be thwarted we managed to pull off an On-Line Virtual Concert, raising a brilliant amount of £1,010 plus an extra £50 from Angel Art Tattoo, Penzance in lieu of payment for my Memory Fest Tattoo! This was all passed over to Alzheimer’s Society in Truro.
In total, to date, we have raised just under £6,000, lets see how much we can increase this by at Wetheringsett!
We hope you will follow our news over the coming months and be able to attend Memory Fest – Wetheringsett with your family and friends!
Thank you so much
Stephen, Cathy and Elinor