Gwyn and Tracey cycled along to The Derbyshire Cricket Foundation to join in the fun with their Monday Mates. It was great to see some old friends again, and to meet some new ones.

We had a red-themed quiz, a hunt for Spanish Sam, and a very active game of seated volleyball with a dozen beachballs being launched simultaneously. The two of us were on scoring duty, counting the balls that went over the opponents' heads and throwing them back into the game. Quite a workout with lots of bending and stretching doing this, considering the scores were 46-44 and 50-49 for the final two games after a few warm-up matches with fewer balls. Blowing up the balls required quite a lot of energy, too!

The Community Officer for the Cricket Foundation, Lucy, has done an excellent job of leading these sessions; she has built up the meetings from absolutely nothing to a vibrant community of friends who support each other, and make the first Monday of the month something that we all look forward to. We were sad to learn that Lucy will be leaving Derby later this month, but very pleased to hear that she and her husband are heading south for new and exciting jobs.

However, the monthly sessions will carry on, with a new leader getting involved next month. Why not come along and meet them with us? We help out setting up the room, enjoy tea and activities with the group, and then put everything away again, it's a lovely atmosphere, and much valued by those living with dementia and their carers.