Dementia UK: Time for a Cuppa

4th March 2020

By 2025, it is predicted that more than one million people will be living with dementia. This means there is a strong chance that we will all be affected by the condition – directly or indirectly – at some point now or in the future.

Whether it is us, or a family member/friend living with some form of dementia, we need to be more aware of the condition in our society.

Time for a Cuppa: 1st to 8th March

Time for a Cuppa is an initiative conceived by Dementia UK and runs from 1st to 8th March 2020. It provides the perfect opportunity to get together with friends, family and colleagues over a cuppa and some cake, whilst raising funds to help dementia specialist nurses support more families facing dementia. Every cake you bake, every cuppa you make and every pound you raise this week can make a huge difference to those affected by dementia. Whilst Time for a Cuppa is being celebrated this week, you can host your tea party on any day or month that suits you!

Host a Tea Party

To help raise monies for the Time for a Cuppa initiative, simply host a tea party at work, at home, at school or in your community. You can even invite people to a get together in a café – such as Costa Coffee in Garden Square!  Then simply:

  • Choose a date and location for the tea party and invite your friends
  • Bake or buy some cakes (we recommend the tasty offerings at Costa and Greggs!)
  • Enjoy a lovely day catching up with friends, family, colleagues or classmates and raise money for those facing lives affected by dementia
  • Count up the cast and send it to Dementia UK!

Vicky Loewer, Admiral Nurse on the Admiral Nurse Dementia Helpline, says: “Time for a Cuppa is such a wonderful event which brings people from all walks of life together.”

Dementia in Britain

The Alzheimer’s Society reports that there are currently over 850,000 people living with dementia in Britain. Of these, 42,000 are people with young onset dementia – this applies to those under the age of 65. However, increasing years increases a person’s risk of developing dementia.

Dementia is a term used to describe progressive neurological disorders – conditions that affect the brain. There are over 200 types of dementia, but the most common are:

  • Alzheimer’s Disease
  • Vascular Dementia
  • Dementia with Lewy Bodies
  • Frontotemporal Dementia
  • Mixed Dementia

Dementia signs and symptoms

There are various signs and symptoms that could indicate a person has dementia. These include:

  • Short term memory problems
  • Thought process changes
  • Reduced concentration levels
  • Communication, comprehension and word finding is harder
  • Less motivation
  • Less able to perform everyday tasks
  • Changes in personality, mood, behaviour or social functioning

All these signs and symptoms can also be due to other causes, so it is important to see your GP so further investigations and tests can be carried out.

Further information

To find out more about Time for a Cuppa, call the Time for a Cuppa Team on 020 8036 5380, email timeforacuppa@dementiauk.org or visit dementiauk.org/time-for-a-cuppa

To find out more about Dementia UK, visit: dementiauk.org