'We knew it was helpful to us, as Val could see at a glance exactly what we were doing each day, but we didn't necessarily know if other people would find it useful.' Keith says, 'I was very surprised the calendar was received so well. They say it provides information so people don't have to keep asking others what day it is, users like the large format and many say it is a useful reminder about appointments. Some carers say their loved ones are now able to read where they are about to go and it jogs their memory about where they have just been. People who have used the new calendar say it has made a fantastic difference. There was such an amazing response that the Memory Calendar 2016 is now available to all through the Society's online shop. With funding from the Duke of Devonshire's Charitable Trust, 500 calendars went out free to people with dementia in Derbyshire at the end of 2013. Keith and Val were thrilled when Helen O'Connor, Dementia Support Service Manager for Derbyshire Alzheimer's Society, phoned to say she had heard about the calendar and wanted to pilot the product in the county. 'He asked us to send him a copy of the makeshift calendar I had produced and he said "leave it with me, I will see what I can do".' ![]() I phoned him up and told him what we wanted to do. ![]() 'We had a calendar of Oxford on our wall produced by publisher Chris Andrews. Keith was unsure about whom to approach, but then had a brainwave. The couple took their prototype calendar to the Memory Café in Buxton, and Alzheimer's Society staff there suggested that Keith could try to get the calendar produced commercially. ![]() And after a while she said, "If this has helped me, don't you think it could help other people?"' 'Val loved it as she didn't have to keep asking me what was happening each day. It was like a stand-up diary and each notebook could hold two months. 'The notebook could stand up and I turned it over at the end of each day. Keith, a retired administrator, says, 'I entered the date and day on each page, leaving space for events, appointments and anniversaries. Although Keith, 73, wasn't completely convinced at first, the couple found it relatively easy to turn this simple idea into a useful memory tool.
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