A SUCCESSFUL dementia cafe which sees between 30 and 40 people attend is moving to a new home.
The Berneslai Memory Cafe, which is held every second Sunday of the month, has been very successful over the last two years.
But it needs a new home because the Berneslai Cafe in the town hall is closing.
The Berneslai Cafe is run by Tom Carbery, who is leaving for personal reasons. The cafe itself has been re-tendered by the council.
But Tom was keen for the memory cafe to continue and is hoping to relocate it to The Old Picture House but is still awaiting a final decision.
It will be run by a board of people including Kathy Markwick, and Tom will sit on the board as vice chairman.
The memory cafe was established two years ago and Tom said it has been very successful.
It is a social gathering for people who are suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s, as well as elderly people and offers live entertainment.
Tom said: “I’m leaving for personal reasons but I’m staying in Barnsley. I’m sad to be leaving, and I will miss it. But these things happen every now and again.
“We have raised awareness and done our part, and have run this every two weeks.
“The cafe has been going two years in August, and it has been very successful. We did do arts and crafts, but we weren’t getting many people, so we have live entertainment every second Sunday. We’ve got a selection of different entertainers who perform a range of music from the 20s to the present day. They really enjoy it. They sometimes walk in and can look quite depressed, but when the music starts they’re off.
“The cafe itself is closing, but the memory cafe will continue.”
