A GROUP of students from the East 15 acting school spent a month visiting dementia patients with dancing, singing, poetry, and lots of tea and cake.


Students from the Southend acting school visited the day centre, Days at The Haven, for four weeks and took time to get to know clients on an individual basis. 


The centre specialises in supporting those living with dementia and is located in the Haven Community Hub, which is in the old Havens Department store in Hamlet Court Road.  


They listened to them reminiscing about their lives and interests and then put on a bespoke performance for them. 
There was dancing, singing, poetry, a puppet show, lots of tea and cake and even a blow football match. They made memory boxes and memory passports for each client to keep as a gift to remember them by and produced a beautiful poem.


The poem that was created goes: 
“One month gone by, so much we’ve shared
A dance, a laugh and not a slice of cake spared,
When we arrived, as strangers we met, 
You opened a library of memories, a chance for us to connect.
Now we’ve walked through this library, each book so bright 
We’ve seen different parts of you, and it’s caused such delight.
In recent times, company’s been hard to find
But in this room we’ve found friendship, generations combined. 
Today we’ve brought those memories alive,
Found real magic in books, even a Kursaal jive,
With a turn of a page, a new story we replayed
In some memories we wish we could have stayed.
Your memory books you’ve given to our library on loan
But now we must return them because they are your own
Thank you so much for your company, it’s really been divine, 
Now as a final parting gift we bring you sunshine.” 


Days at The Haven specialises in supporting those living with dementia and  is located in the Haven Community Hub which is in the old Havens Department store in Hamlet Court Road.  
The centre offers half and full day sessions. 


The aim of the service is to help reduce loneliness and provide much needed respite for carers. It is staffed by fully trained support workers and assisted by Age Concern Southend volunteers.  


For more information you can email days@acsos.co.uk or call 01702 345373.