I am a freelance artist who has spent the last twenty years sharing creative endeavours with people of all ages and stages of development. I have been caregiver at various points in my life. My most recent experience of caring for my mother-in-law who has dementia led me to establish a dementia-friendly café in partnership with a local church, called The Blue Flamingo Café. The main goal of The Blue Flamingo is to support the mental health of all who attend, with a particular emphasis on the wellbeing of carers. As the programme has developed, I have introduced creative projects and objects that encourage creativity and play into our setting. Music plays a large role in our sessions, and we are led in sing-alongs by local members of the community. My goal is to expand our programme to reach more people from other communities and to find ways to bring young people and older people together to promote intergenerational connections with the hopes of fostering relationships, thus breaking down barriers and stigmas that persist around the topic of ageing.
