DURING the latter part of 2010, with the support of the Holsworthy branch of the Senior Council for Devon (SCfD), meetings were held with the aim of setting up a Memory Café in the town.

A Memory Café is a place where people with dementia and their carers receive a warm welcome and refreshments. They are offered the chance to meet informally with health and social care professionals and take part in reminiscent activities.

Now thanks to a successful application to the Santander Foundation for funding, Emma Baldwin of Torridge Voluntary Services has been appointed as Memory Café Co-ordinator to work for 16 hours per week for six months from March to September.

Her duties will be to develop a café in Holsworthy as well as at Northam and Torrington, to recruit volunteers, to fundraise and ensure the cafes are able to stand alone at the end of the six months.

To this end a meeting will be held at Holsworthy Hospital at 2pm on Thursday, March 3 to which everyone interested in setting up this group is invited.

Margaret Coles, chairman of Holsworthy SCfD, said: "This is really good news for the Holsworthy area. I do hope the community will support the setting up of this valuable support facility."