“There are bad days when my mood is low and I don’t want to get out of bed,” says Kevin Ingram, 56, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease last year.

Kevin had been ‘working hell for leather’ at the Honda plant in Swindon when he found he was struggling to keep up with the pace and would sometimes fall asleep while on a shift. He took a redundancy package after diagnosis, but praises his former employer for the way they supported him and keeps in touch with his former colleagues.  

The dementia diagnosis has taken some getting used to. “It was very bad at first and I was feeling very angry,” he says. It has also impacted on his relationship with his wife, Siobhan, and wider family. “It’s difficult to get into conversation when there’s more than one person talking so I switch off.”

On his good days he takes his two dogs out for a walk, does jigsaw puzzles and attends the Muddy Boots group in Lower Stanton St Quintin with Siobhan where he is regularly to be found outside at a work bench with a saw in hand and at the Malmesbury Gardening Café. “I said I’d give it a go and go along with an open mind,” he says. “It’s been good fun getting to know the people there, some are quite quirky and you can’t tell who has it (dementia) and who doesn’t.”

“The pace is a lot slower than in my Honda days, but I’d really recommend the groups.”