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Milton Grange Staff and Clients Questionnaire 

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Mike

Today I met a man I hadn’t seen before in daycare. He introduced himself as Mike after calling me over to ask if I was a student. I explained that I was studying for a graphic design degree and he couldn’t understand why I was there. He explained to me that most of the people in the building are crazy. I told him that that was exactly why I’m there. Mike lives in a flat in Meads, Eastbourne with his wife who is currently undergoing chemotherapy. Whilst she goes for her treatment, he attends the daycare. He has also been admitted to the unit upstairs before because he is having trouble with his balance and keeps falling over. He seems like an intelligent man and has no trouble telling me about himself. I only notice that he is obviously starting to show signs of dementia when he repeats the same story about a fall to me a few minutes later. One of the other clients named Janet started playing the piano so I told Mike it was nice to meet him and hopefully I would see him again soon. Once I’d left to go and sit with Janet, Mike seemed to have some sort of accident because there was blood and urine on the floor where he had been sat. The staff dealt with the situation and he was taken home immediately. I felt really worried about him for the rest of the day because I wasn’t sure what had happened and he seemed absolutely fine whilst I was talking to him. 

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20 - 3

This morning I observed an external reminiscence group in the relaxation room. The group consisted of 7 clients, 6 male and 1 female. The group was run by staff member Sally. The topic discussed was ‘School Days’. It was really interesting to hear about each persons memories and reflection on their time in education which was during the late 40′s / early 50′s. Obviously school life was quite different then to what it is now. I was surprised at how much each person was able to remember. Here are some of their recollections:

Mick 

Mick grew up in London, but was bombed out during the War. He was therefore forced to relocate to a more rural school based in Lynton, Devon - which was completely different from what he was used to. Routine was much more relaxed than in London and the children were nicer. He recalls that at such a young age it was a complete shock, but eventually he did get used to the change. Mick went on to attend Twickenham Technical Art College and enjoyed it a lot. He is a keen artist who went on to sell many of his paintings. He also plays violin. He was meant to bring it in to play it this week but he forgot. 

Vince

Although Vince was born in the Midlands, his family moved down South due to a depression caused by the First World War. He went to school locally in Eastbourne, studying at St Josephs. He remembers attending school back to the age of 5. He has fond memories of the teachers, who treated the children well and did their best to make sure they were happy. They were not domineering or harsh in their methods. 

Dennis

Dennis went to a school in Brighton where the girls and boys were segregated but shared the same school. Boys would be taught in the morning and girls in the afternoon, alternating each week. They were never allowed to mix. Rosemary, another member of the reminiscence group, actually went to this same school, but due to these restrictions they never met. During the war he was evacuated to a school in Yorkshire where he walked a 6 mile round trip to get to school and back every day. Dennis recalls that unlike most of the other clients he never liked school. He found learning hard work and couldn’t grasp most things, which led to a disinterest altogether. He was much more of a physical learner, enjoying sports, rather than academia. He jokes that he used to look forward to hearing the air siren evacuations because it meant they would get out of class. 

David

Unlike Dennis, David enjoyed school because he was clever. He found most classes quite easy. After finishing school he went straight into the family business as a Greengrocer, helping his Father every day. He never had any plans to do anything else. His own son eventually went on to work for the business as well, but unfortunately he died. 

Rosemary

Rosemary reasonably enjoyed school and was very academic. She loved to read and was good at math. She had three older brothers who attended the same school and remembers that they used to teach her how to look out for herself. She became quite a tomboy and had no interest in playing with the girls until she got older and her brothers began encouraging her to look in female shops and buy nice dresses. 

George

George went to school in Hurstpierpoint. His main memory from that time was getting the cane or the slipper from his teachers. Despite this, he enjoyed what he can remember about those days. He has nice memories about playing games with other children. 

All of the clients recalled that they went to schools where the children were 100% white. There were a few Italian or Cypriot children, but none black. They all remembered drinking milk and having a teaspoon of malt and cod liver oil. Some of the games and sports they remember playing were:

Hopscotch

Tag

Cross Country

Rounders

Hockey

Conkers

Leapfrog

Skipping

5 Stones

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Essie

Essie was new to the daycare today and Keith introduced me to her right away. She has been staying in the unit upstairs, most likely due to an event or injury, but I didn’t ask why. She joined us for the music session and we spoke about her life. She was born in Chelsea, London, where I attended my first year of University. We spoke about Vauxhall, where I lived in London, and her husband Bernie who used to play the drums. Often when I talk to the clients about their spouses, I usually end up assuming that they are dead. I’ve learnt to just carry on the conversation and continue to talk about them as if they are alive, to try and encourage as many memories from that person as possible about their spouse and their life before dementia. Essie loves Jazz, so I request that some be played for her. We listen and she dances in her chair for the entire song. She very much enjoyed the morning and couldn’t stop thanking the staff for having her. At the end of the session, her husband Bertie was wheeled in by another carer. It filled my heart with love. He says hello to her and she tells him all about the Jazz, how she wished he had heard it. Sally invites them to join us again in the afternoon but they never come back down. This small moment made my day.

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Judy

Today I noticed that Judy has incredibly young hands. Normally I look at people’s hands to try and judge how old they are. I asked her if she knew her age and she said that she was born in 1949, which makes her 70. Although she is frail and cannot see or hear very well, she barely has a wrinkle on her. 

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17 - 3

Today is St Patricks day, and there are only a small group of clients in daycare, even for a Sunday. We spent the morning doing a music reminiscence class, the playlist as follows:

Harry Secombe - I Believe

Abba - Thank You For The Music

John Denver - Annie’s Song

Dolly Parton - Islands In The Stream

Johnny Ray - When I Met My Sweet Lorraine

Elvis Presley - Suspicious Minds

Nat King Cole - Sweet Lorraine

Bernard Cribbins - Hole In The Ground

As always it was nice to see some of the clients getting into the music, especially Wendy One who always sings along and dances in her chair. She was meant to go out for a cigarette but quickly returned when she heard her song come on, which is always Johnny Ray. 

After the chosen songs had been played we listened to some Irish songs to celebrate St Patricks day. No one really seemed that interested in it but some of the clients did know a bit about its history. Lunch today was an Irish stew and pudding was an Irish Apple and Guinness cake. Whilst everyone ate I started a crossword puzzle, most of which I was able to complete, but as soon as Mick had finished eating I asked for his help. He insisted he wasn’t very good at crossword puzzles but I explained that because he is good at quizzes, he should be able to help me. He was able to answer a number of the clues and eventually more people started joining in trying to help me finish it. 

Once everyone had been seated after lunch, Gary introduced an Irish quiz. The clients were asked different Ireland themed questions. Mick, as usual, knew most of the answers. 

After the Quiz we started a discussion about getting older. Sally read some humorous quotes from a book called ‘Wrinkles, Wit and Wisdom’. Most of the clients really enjoyed hearing the jokes, but some were already napping. Mick says that he doesn’t feel old at all. Joyce says that she has felt old ever since she had a stroke. She says that she doesn’t know where she is or what is she is doing here. Sally comforts her. She reads some more of the book and says that it is important to be able to laugh at the loss of our memories as we mature. We then go on to read some jokes about old age and sex, which Wendy One really enjoys. I notice that Anne is fiddling with her woolen trousers and knitted cardigan, quickly rubbing her fingers in circles on the material. Herta is also fiddling with the edge of her sleeves. 

We go on to discuss Honeymoons. Joyce went to London just for the evening and spent hers in a very posh hotel. Wendy Two went to Blackpool but had a stomach ache for most of her trip, remembering that her husband had to go to the front desk and get her a hot water bottle. Ceela cannot remember her honeymoon at all. It makes me sad that she has lost this important memory. She doesn’t seem that bothered by it. 

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