A Life More Ordinary (ALMO)
Our ALMO programme of dementia-friendly events was inspired by a report from Age UK which highlighted couples who were living with dementia but were feeling isolated and had stopped going out, socialising and doing things together.
The initial project ran for three years, reaching almost 11,000 participants, with dementia-friendly screenings and workshops taking place in Lancaster. The programme was then rolled out to fifteen partner venues across the UK and culminated in the Creative Adventures in Dementia Festival which took place in May 2018.
The Dukes continues to offer regular ALMO Dementia-friendly cinema screenings with a relaxed atmosphere where people are welcome to move around and come and go as they please. Each screening has an interval with live entertainment. You can find our dementia-friendly screenings on our listings by searching for events that are tagged with 'ALMO'.
“What the Dukes offers for us in its ‘Life More Ordinary’ programme is the opportunity to do what were once ordinary things, in a slightly different way. To be able to go to a ‘dementia-friendly’ screening of a film, for example, is wonderful. In these showings the lights are slightly dimmed but kept on, as this is less disorientating for us. Films are carefully chosen. We love the whole event, we always sing the whole way home and we are often still talking about the show over dinner.”- ALMO Audience Member
Bring Me Laughter
This project centred on understanding laughter’s role in communication between people living with dementia and those caring for them.
‘Bring Me Laughter’ was funded by the Wellcome Trust and responds to the success of the original ALMO project.
Bring Me Laughter at Home
During the lockdown perioid, we shared with you some of the activities from our dementia-friendly Bring Me Laughter project, with accompanying info - including some things to listen to, read and take part in at home.
With You: Handbook of Creative Activities for Carers
As part of the Bring Me Laughter Festival, we officially released With You, a handbook of creative activities for carers living at home with partners or family members with dementia.
The handbook suggests low-tech, inexpensive and inspiring ways of using music, movement, art-making, story-telling and word play in your daily routine to help support and reassure, encourage and enliven and to promote relaxation.
With You was commissioned by The Dukes and funded by the Evan Cornish Foundation.
Reports about ALMO
We have created a number of reports about our work with Dementia which are below.
Still Me: A Participatory, Person-Centered Multi-Arts Project Toolkit
Age UK Lancashire: Journeying Together, An Unforgettable Pilot Programme
