Memory walk for charity
People with dementia are among those that will be taking part in a memory walk near Oswestry on Sunday.
More than 120 people, from those who want to enjoy a walk while raising money for a good cause, to dementia suffers and their carers, have already signed up to the Memory Walk taking place at the British Ironwork Centre.
Organisers say they would love more people to get involved.
Val Brown, 80, who has been working and volunteering with people with dementia, all her adult life, said the morning would be much more than the walk.
"We will have music by the Beautiful Barley Boys, who play wonderfully nostalgic songs, and the Alzheimer's Society roadshow bus will be on hand to give out information and help. We will have also have a raffle and water on the course thanks to Sainsbury's."
Mrs Brown said there would be warm up exercises from 10am with the two walks starting at 11am.
"There is a three mile walk through the Ironwork Centre and also a special, one mile walk on proper pathways for dementia suffers and their carers," she said.
A care home manager for 26 years, Mrs Brown first became interested in caring for those with dementia when doing her nurse training.
"I was 17 and a patient threw something at me and knocked me teeth out. I realise now I could have dealt with his questions better and he would not have become so frustrated."
She now volunteers for Age UK and is chairman of a steering group that is working to make Oswestry dementia friendly.
"We already have a number of shops in the town signing up to have staff that are dementia friends. They wear a forget-me-not badge and the shop will be able to have a sticker to show that they are happy to help.
"It can be simply things like having a chair for someone to sit on if they become flustered or replacing a black entrance mat that to a dementia sufferer could look like a hole that they will be scared to cross."
Clive Knowles from the British Ironwork Centre said he was delighted that the centre had been recognised for its work to become a dementia friendly destination.
"We are the first to be given official recognition," he said.
