Farnham ASSIST was formed as an independent charity in
January 2010. Its main focus is on supporting older people,
particularly those living on their own in the Farnham area of Surrey.
Its mission is simply 'to be there for older people in Farnham, meeting
them where they are and showing God's love in our work.'
The Farnham ASSIST programme of activities strives to offer
opportunities for friendships to be formed, activities to be enjoyed
(many of which become more of a struggle with age and living alone
or being a carer) and, just as importantly, ways of providing practical
help and advice. Wherever possible, all the activities include a time
for tea and cake to provide an opportunity to chat and not rush off.
One of the core services that Farnham ASSIST offers is its regular one-to-one befriending service where volunteers visit those who cannot get out so easily (Surrey Adult Services refer into this service). For those who can get out, often with the help of volunteer drivers, there is a weekly Knit 'n' Natter session, computer courses, Pie & Pint lunches in a local pub, including a Christmas lunch. Also, twice a month, at the weekend, a roast lunch is provided in local venues. And in the summer, there are group outings.
Once a month in the afternoon, a non-denominational Silver Service is held in a local church. Regular short services are also held in several care homes in the town. All Farnham ASSIST activities are open to anyone but as a recognised Christian organisation it is felt important to have accessible worship services as part of its programme of activities.
In addition to social and spiritual activities, Farnham ASSIST has developed partnerships with Citizens Advice Waverley, who provide a home visiting service to help with benefits advice and general form filling, and also a local firm of solicitors to provide help with wills and property.
Farnham ASSIST was formed as an independent charity in January 2010. Its main focus is on supporting older people, particularly those living on their own in the Farnham area of Surrey. Its mission is simply 'to be there for older people in Farnham, meeting them where they are and showing God's love in our work.' The Farnham ASSIST programme of activities strives to offer opportunities for friendships to be formed, activities to be enjoyed... Read more
Much appreciated by care home Activity Coordinators around the country, the Daily Sparkle is a reminiscence newspaper specially developed to provide daily stimulation, interest, enjoyment and fun for older people and people living with dementia.
It is an online newspaper, which is described as ‘about the world many older people live in, a world which we see as the past, but which is often their experience of reality. The articles trigger memories of times when they often felt happier. The Daily Sparkle helps older people feel good about themselves.
‘The Daily Sparkle evokes feelings of happiness and enhanced self-esteem. It also provides the perfect opportunity for interpersonal engagement. With its short, easy-to-digest articles, older people enjoy sharing their precious memories with others, paving the way to building relationships with staff and other residents.’
Over the past 12 years, the team at the Daily Sparkle report having worked with 7,000 activity coordinators.
This title can be ordered from Daily Sparkle
Much appreciated by care home Activity Coordinators around the country, the Daily Sparkle is a reminiscence newspaper specially developed to provide daily stimulation, interest, enjoyment and fun for older people and people living with dementia. It is an online newspaper, which is described as ‘about the world many older people live in, a world which we see as the past, but which is often their experience of reality. The articles trigger memories of times when... Read more
Miles to Go Before I Sleep
‘The feeling of mortality brings you to life like nothing else.’ This is the paradox writer Claire Gilbert grapples with in her book Miles to Go Before I Sleep: Letters on hope, death and learning to live (Hodder & Stoughton, 2021).
Gilbert is living with leukaemia and writes graphically about her physical symptoms and treatment as well as her feelings since she was diagnosed with the life-limiting disease.
The experience has given her a fresh perspective on life, facing up to the personal implications of her illness, including, for example, that she is unlikely to reach old age.
An interview with Claire about her book is available. A short clip can be found on YouTube or the whole interview is on the Church Times website.
This title is published by Hodder & Stoughton and details of where to order it can be found here.
‘The feeling of mortality brings you to life like nothing else.’ This is the paradox writer Claire Gilbert grapples with in her book Miles to Go Before I Sleep: Letters on hope, death and learning to live (Hodder & Stoughton, 2021)… Read more
Scent of Water
However parched we may be, even a ‘scent of water’ will be enough to revive us no matter what has felled us, temporarily, on life’s way. So speaks a significant line of scripture in the book of Job, ‘There is hope for a tree when it is cut down... merely a scent of water will make it sprout’ (Job 14:7-9).
Author Penelope Swithinbank has compiled a collection of ‘Words of Comfort’ to help in times of bereavement. Her book Scent of Water (Sarah Grace Publishing, 2021) is dedicated to her late mother, Irene Walter (née Lanston) who died when she was 90. Penelope chose this verse to place with that dedication:
‘Charm is deceptive
and beauty does not last;
but a woman who fears the Lord
will be greatly praised.’
(Proverbs 31:30)
Like refreshing waters, these pages are meant to be dipped into rather than gulped in one go. They are ‘dyslexic-friendly’ in the way they are set out so as to be easy to read or look at.
‘It is a gift book for those who are mourning, whether the loss of a loved one or indeed of their own imagined future life following a terminal diagnosis. It is a resource for those who minister to the bereaved; it is for times when anything more than just a few words or a thought or anything too deep, is impossible,’ says the author.
One reviewer, Marissa Warner, declared that ‘Scent of Water is a beautiful book. It is a book dealing with grief and loss but in a special way. This book sits close to you in your grief and is simply there for you, waiting.’
This title can be ordered from Malcolm Down and Sarah Grace Publishing.
However parched we may be, even a ‘scent of water’ will be enough to revive us no matter what has felled us, temporarily, on life’s way… Read more
Dearly
There's a personal reason why Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid's Tale, has written so poignantly about dementia. Her long-time partner, novelist and conservationist Graeme Gibson, died in September 2019, having lived with the condition for years.
The Canadian author, Atwood, said at the time, 'We are devastated by the loss of Graeme, our beloved father, grandfather, and spouse, but we are happy that he achieved the kind of swift exit he wanted and avoided the decline into further dementia that he feared.' But, she added, 'He had a lovely last few weeks, and he went out on a high, surrounded by love, friendship and appreciation. We are grateful for his wise, ethical, and committed life.'
Her latest collection of poems entitled Dearly (Chatto and Windus, 2020) is dedicated to him – 'For Graeme, in absentia' – and the poems speak lovingly of 'Mr Lionheart' and 'Invisible Man', weaving memories of their shared love of birdwatching with a growing apprehension about the time when, 'You'll be here but not here.'
The title poem 'Dearly' is an exploration of how memories play out in our old age – and how much we still long for those we love when there's nothing more tangible than photographs to remember them by:
'Dearly beloved gathered here together
in this closed drawer,
fading now, I miss you…'
We are fortunate that Atwood has gone through her old poems and brought them together in this latest collection. Introducing them, she says, 'Handwritten, put in a drawer, typed, revised. These poems were written between 2008 and 2019. During those eleven years, things got darker in the world. Also I grew older. People very close to me died.
'Poetry deals with the core of human existence,' she explains, 'life, death, renewal, change; as well as fairness and unfairness, injustice and sometimes justice. The world in all is variety. The weather. Time. Sadness. Joy.'
I certainly enjoyed all that she offers in Dearly, both of sorrow (another word, she says, 'you don't hear much anymore') and joy. Readers whose lives are also touched by dementia may find they resonate especially with such an authoritative voice appreciated, for her fiction and poetry, the world over.
This title can be ordered from Penguin Books.
Once again Giles takes a journey through Advent to Christmas and beyond in the company of familiar seasonal and domestic objects and experiences. Focusing on the everyday stuff we typically associate with that time of year, including some things not so festive, he reflects on their spiritual meaning and message in today’s world... Read more