The Albion Foundation are proud to support World Alzheimer’s Day (September 21) through the means of our Memories Group, taking place every Wednesday afternoon at The Hawthorns.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia, and it can affect anyone’s family and friends - one in three people born in the UK today will develop dementia in their lifetime.
The Albion Foundation’s Memories Group, a free-to-attend session at The Hawthorns, offers a safe and welcoming space for anyone locally who struggles with these diseases.
The group enjoy reminiscing and sharing tales of yesteryear, with memories called upon by club legend John Homer and some very special Albion legends as guests.
Baggies great Ally Robertson, an ambassador for the sessions, explains why he continues to support such a pivotal initiative.
Ally said: “They come in at 12:00 and stay for two hours, it’s great to see them come and remember all of the things in the past they enjoyed. It’s very good, we start off with the same 12 questions so that they remember these local things.
“It’s great to know how they feel and they can bring something back from the early 70’s that you’ve forgotten yourself. It’s fantastic, sometimes they’ll say, ‘do you remember this?’ and I don’t know that myself.
“It’s brilliant to see how they brighten up every time they start talking about the memories. They started the sessions with saying they need to bring some biscuits, now you can’t stop them.
“It’s great to be a part of it, it’s like a little family together and great for everyone. It’s lovely and you can see when the two hours finish, they don’t want to go home.
“They would rather stay for another two hours, it’s great to see them enjoy it. Normally we get former players to come and help as well, it’s really interesting when they come.
“We’ll all go back together and it’s just great to be a part of that, going back to the 70’s or 80’s to remember games. We love it because we all have a laugh, take the mickey and see all of those smiling faces.
“You can see everyone enjoying it, asking questions, chipping in with memories. If you go back to the start of sessions, they’d come in and not really say a lot.
“If you know someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia, encourage them to come along and try it. If they enjoy it, they can carry on – but once they come and get into it – they’ll enjoy it.”
Anyone can do just that and join The Hawthorns Hub every Wednesday from 12pm-4pm, entry is free and can be booked by contacting Rich Henderson at richard.henderson@albionfoundation.co.uk
