A new Cotswolds Dementia Café is being launched in Stow-on-the-Wold this week.

The community café offering friendship, support, advice and activities for anyone living with or caring for someone with dementia is launching at Stow Baptist Church Hall in Back Walls on Friday, April 21st from 2pm to 4pm. It will then meet every first and third Friday of the month.

Alexa Buffery, one of the organisers, said: "My husband was diagnosed with dementia about six months ago and it was then that we realised that there is very little support for people with dementia in the North Cotswolds.

"We have joined an amazing singing group in Bourton-on-the-Water called Mindsong which meet fortnightly to sing and chat. From there I met some other carers and we decided to form a monthly coffee morning in a local cafe where we could meet up and share information.

"I was then fortunate to meet with a group in Bourton called Dementia Friendly Bourton who meet fortnightly to try and promote awareness of dementia, initially in Bourton but also now further afield in the North Cotswolds. This is part of the Dementia Action Alliance which is a national organisation.

"The group is headed by Richard Brett from Edwardstow - a care home in Stow run by the Order of St Johns who specialise in dementia care. Part of his role as customer liaison officer is to promote dementia awareness in the community."

Alexa added: "My background is in care management so I decided that we needed to open a dementia café in the area and met with Joy Dimond from the Baptist Church. She is also promoting the Church Hall as a community centre so it seemed ideal to set up the café there.

"My husband is looking forward to attending the café regularly and meeting up with other dementia sufferers as he says it is helpful to meet others who feel like him and he is not alone in fighting this disease. "It has been proven that the more social contact people with dementia have together with doing activities and having fun can all be beneficial to people suffering from this debilitating condition."

For more information about the Cotswolds Dementia Café, contact Alexa Buffery on 07999 589387 or email alexa_buffery@yahoo.co.uk