ON A rainy and cold Monday morning we were pleased that so many of the group members managed to turn out for our meeting on May 13 and we enjoyed a social - if damp – morning welcoming Trina from the Alzheimer’s Society, who came to catch up with various group members personally and to let the group as a whole know what the Alzheimer’s Society can offer to people with dementia.

Group member Kate has been working on a talk to a dementia study day and now realises just how much support they give and how this is always followed through with carers and cared for.

We also welcomed Bruno from AJM HealthCare, who are the leading provider of NHS wheelchair services in the UK. Bruno updated us on a previous visit he made last year, to talk about the holistic care provided by the company, the personal wheelchair budgets, and the repair services offered by the company.

The visit was arranged as this is something that some of our carers are having to address as their care for abilities decline, so was well appreciated by the group and Bruno left with some appointments to visit and assessments to undertake.

There was of course plenty of time for the usual exchange of gossip and ideas and we had a look at the Chard plan for the future, where more than one of us queried the plan to reintroduce a bus service on a Sunday.

Members felt that if the buses were to be running, has anyone contacted Ilminster, Taunton or Axminster about this or will the buses be simply doing a tour of the streets of Chard?

On a more serious note, we welcomed the plan to rebuild the public toilets near to the bus stop on Boden Street.

Also high on the meeting agenda were the plans for the June meeting, which usually coincides with Carers’ Week, when we have a buffet lunch followed by some entertainment.

This year however it will be the week after Carers’ Week, the third Monday in the month – Monday, June 17 – and will start at 11.30, finishing around 3pm, at our usual venue the hall behind the English Martyrs Church at the traffic lights in Chard.

Chard Carers’ Support Group is an informal and friendly group that welcomes unpaid carers for a social get-together every month, the second Monday of the month 10.30am to 12.30pm.

If you would like more information about the group then please contact Pat on 01460 220026 or Kate on 01460 394331, email us at chardcarers@aol.com or find us on Facebook for updates on our activities and an agenda for our special June meeting.