4 Years of FMN

September 16 saw the 4th Anniversary of the Forget-Me-Not Café. At our first get together there were 11 people living with dementia and their carers. Now we have an average of around 45 attending every week, together with about a dozen volunteers. At one stage we were running out of space, with close to 70 attending on some weeks, but that was before Sunflower in Odiham, Daisy Chain in Yateley and Cafe Nostalgia in Church Crookham were established. With the singing sessions in Fleet on Tuesday and at the Hartley Wintney Football Club on a Thursday, plus dementia friendly gym sessions at the Hart Leisure Centre and swimming sessions in Basingstoke, both on a Friday, there is now something to do on every day of the week.

Whilst the Forget-Me-Not Café is still primarily a space where people come to do what they want to, which might be simply for a peaceful cup of tea, a piece of home made cake and a chat, we do occasionally have entertainment just for some variety. Recently, we were royally entertained by the Fleet U3A Ukulele Band who gave us a wonderful afternoon playing songs, with the words provided, so that everyone could join in.