# The Care Combine

> Building a community of family dementia carers


## Posts

- [Good New Days](https://carecombine.org/blog/good-new-days/): In Sweden, Lucia marks the beginning of the Christmas festivities, so we had our own celebration. We need more days like this, which Lena will enjoy and I'll remember.
- [I'm Davy Crockett - Get Me Out Of Here](https://carecombine.org/blog/bine/im-davy-crockett-get-me-out-of-here/): There are lots of dementia groups, many more than 5 years ago. But only around 10% of those diagnosed make use of them. Why? Can we do better with The Bine?
- [Lock Her Up? - Dementia, Safety, and Liberty](https://carecombine.org/blog/opinion/lock-her-up-dementia-safety-issues/): To keep people with dementia safe, we're sometimes tempted to lock them in. But when does safety become imprisonment? Dementia's human rights challenges.
- [Market Updates And Adjustments](https://carecombine.org/blog/stories/market-updates-and-adjustments/): Opening day for the wonderful Manchester Christmas markets. We went to find out what was new. Not just the stalls, but how Lena would react this year.
- [The Two-Minute Bine](https://carecombine.org/blog/bine/the-two-minute-bine/): In the last 6 months, I've written over 100 articles and stories about - or related to - The Bine. But here's the 2-minute explanation: the elevator pitch.
- [A Legend Living The Life He Loves](https://carecombine.org/blog/voices/a-legend-living-the-life-he-loves/): For 50 years Ron Hill has inspired me. First as one of our greatest distance runners. And now as a new kind of champion as he speaks out about Alzheimers.
- [Alley Oop - It's All In The Name](https://carecombine.org/blog/bine/volunteering-alley-oop-its-all-in-the-name/): Why is it so hard to get people to volunteer for street-cleaning? Maybe it needs to sound more aspirational? Lessons learned for our dementia care project. 
- [Pictures In The Park](https://carecombine.org/blog/stories/pictures-in-the-park/): Walking is one of the best activities I know for both me and Lena. Here are some of my favourite photos. Why not get out there too? (If you need more encouragement follow the link to our Carer Tips newsletter.)
- [Microcosmic](https://carecombine.org/blog/stories/microcosmic/): Out in a tiny rowing-boat on a massive expanse of water. A microcosm of our life with Alzheimers. A wellbeing with dementia story.
- [Dementia Research: Measuring Wellbeing](https://carecombine.org/blog/bine/dementia-research-measuring-wellbeing/): We explore the experts' distinction between 'quality of life' and 'wellbeing', and then establish a prototype for a dementia wellbeing research project - you're invited to join.
- [The Writer's Rights And Responsibilities](https://carecombine.org/blog/opinion/the-writers-rights-and-responsibilities/): What right do I have to write about Lena and lay open her dementia disabilities to the world, when she has no say in the matter? Am I betraying her?
- [Dementia - A Spiritual Journey](https://carecombine.org/blog/voices/dementia-a-spiritual-journey/): We can find beauty in the most unexpected times and places. Even, as in this story from Amor Fati, when challenged with dementia. But first we need to open our eyes and start looking.
- [Retired? Who Me?](https://carecombine.org/blog/opinion/retired-who-me/): From running I've learnt lessons that I'm carrying over into The Care Combine. First, you're never too old. Second, be the best you can be. Third, aim for the impossible. When you get there, aim again.
- [Changing-Room Blues](https://carecombine.org/blog/stories/changing-room-blues/): The clothes we choose to wear help to define us. But dementia makes it hard, gradually limiting choice, fraying tempers. How can we keep up morale?
- [Time For A Scam Cam?](https://carecombine.org/blog/opinion/time-for-a-scam-cam/): Fraudsters reportedly scammed nearly 49,000 older people in the UK last year. People with dementia are particularly at risk. What can we do to protect them?
- [Don't Give Up The Day-Job](https://carecombine.org/blog/bine/dont-give-up-the-day-job/): In Sweden children go to pre-school from a very young age, allowing mothers not to sacrifice their careers.  I'd like dementia care to offer a similar option.
- [The Fraud](https://carecombine.org/blog/stories/the-fraud/): I'm campaigning for a better quality of life for people with dementia - with more contact and engagement. But am I giving my own wife the attention she needs? Is this expert just a fraud?
- [Sharing The Present](https://carecombine.org/blog/stories/sharing-the-present/): Another of the dementia stories from our 2015 Lake District roadtrip. Still we enjoy moments of beauty as we live in the present. (One or two of you have asked what else I've written - there's a link to a page on my Amazon publications here.)
- [Writing Your Dementia stories](https://carecombine.org/blog/opinion/dementia-stories/): Writing your dementia stories - catharsis for you, insight for others. Whether you're just beginning or have been writing for a while, why not write with us?
- [We Need To Stop Talking About Dementia](https://carecombine.org/blog/opinion/we-need-to-stop-talking-about-dementia/): When we see the word 'dementia', it's hard not to think of all its negative connotations. The word itself scares people. So here's a challenge. Let's find a better alternative.
- [The Best Things In Life Aren't Free](https://carecombine.org/blog/opinion/the-best-things-in-life-arent-free/): Experts say that without new funding, our current social care system will fail. But we're proposing a system rewrite, costing less and offering much more. The new system is called The Bine.
- [Whose Truth Is It Anyway?](https://carecombine.org/blog/stories/whose-truth-is-it-anyway/): In today's world, it can be hard to distinguish between fact and fiction. But maybe dementia can teach us empathy - to learn to tolerate alternative truths. For dementia carers, it's an important lesson to learn.
- [Choice And Meaning In Dementia Care](https://carecombine.org/blog/bine/choice-and-meaning-in-dementia-care/): The Bine is our radical new approach to dementia care. But how did the idea take shape? Here's a revealing audio snippet from my brainstorming sessions with Andy Walker back in July 2017.
- [Where To Draw The Line](https://carecombine.org/blog/stories/where-to-draw-the-line/): Dementia doesn't always respect the rules of polite behaviour. In this story, Lena decides to police crimes against style - and almost lands us in trouble.
- [Momentum](https://carecombine.org/blog/bine/momentum/): We're aiming to transform the lives of people with dementia, their carers, their families, and the country. But how can you help to increase The Care Combine's momentum, making us an irresistible force for positive change?
- [All Together Now](https://carecombine.org/blog/bine/all-together-now/): Everyone talks about the success of dementia singing sessions. But we wanted an event. Dementia-inspired, but a great night out for the whole family too. As a bonus, this post includes 2 songs from Edwin Miles, one with a clear dementia focus.
- [Through The Looking Glass](https://carecombine.org/blog/stories/through-the-looking-glass/): Stories are important: we'll base our Bine training programme on them. Here's another of ours - about a different kind of dementia friend.
- [A Difficult Question](https://carecombine.org/blog/bine/asking-difficult-questions/): Sometimes it's the difficult question that can help us see things from a brand new perspective. How a challenge helped us to think again about The Bine.
- [Freedom](https://carecombine.org/blog/opinion/freedom/): For millions of those with dementia and their carers, the one thing they long for above all is freedom. For me, that longing is captured in this photo.
- [10 Guidelines For Your Dementia Visit](https://carecombine.org/blog/opinion/10-guidelines-for-your-dementia-visit/): A carer sets out 10 practical guidelines for friends and relatives visiting someone with more advanced dementia. How to make the visit a success for everyone.
- [Coming To Visit](https://carecombine.org/blog/stories/coming-to-visit/): When you're visiting a family-member or friend with dementia, everything goes much better if you can forget a few things too.
- [Down The Rabbit Hole](https://carecombine.org/blog/voices/down-the-rabbit-hole/): My stories are written from the standpoint of the dementia carer. But Minna Packer gives us the authentic voice of a woman with Young Onset Alzheimer's - she's an outstanding writer too.
- [Going Away](https://carecombine.org/blog/stories/going-away/): Dementia and denial. She denies. So I deny. We both get angry. Nobody wins. A story from the early days, as mild dementia takes a turn for the worse.
- [An Explosive Combination](https://carecombine.org/blog/opinion/an-explosive-combination/): The world can be a dangerous place, especially for people with dementia. But could looking for dementia dangers actually help to make us all a little safer?
- [Dementia Volunteer](https://carecombine.org/blog/bine/dementia-volunteer/): Community volunteering can give people with dementia meaning and purpose in their lives. But does it work for people with advanced dementia? Two experiences from us, set 3 years apart.
- [The Missing](https://carecombine.org/blog/bine/the-missing/): The number of dementia groups is increasing, but few of those diagnosed actually attend. Why - when 68% of them report that they feel socially isolated?
- [Early Signs Of Dementia](https://carecombine.org/blog/carer-tips/early-signs-of-dementia/): From our Carer Tips series: What are the early signs of dementia, and when is it time to talk to the GP? This was our experience.
- [The Watcher On The Road](https://carecombine.org/blog/stories/the-watcher-on-the-road/): Out walking with dementia and imagination -  a story showing there are still good times to be shared and enjoyed for years into the illness. First published in 2015.
- [The Day I Kidnapped My Wife](https://carecombine.org/blog/stories/dementia-and-anxiety/): Anxiety can be high for the dementia carer - what can go wrong next? Here's our story, with guidance on reducing anxiety levels.
- [Coming Out On Dementia](https://carecombine.org/blog/stories/how-do-you-tell-people-about-dementia/): It's hard to tell people about dementia, for those diagnosed and their carers. It's seen as an old person's illness. What will they think? Here's our story. What's yours?
- [School's Out Forever](https://carecombine.org/blog/opinion/schools-out-forever/): Let's do some reverse engineering. What would happen if we organised our schools system the way we handle dementia care?
- [A Dementia-Friendly House - And Life](https://carecombine.org/blog/opinion/a-dementia-friendly-house-and-life/): Could dementia-friendly housing help people with the illness to live at home for longer? Perhaps. But housing alone isn’t enough …
- [Dementia And Pets](https://carecombine.org/blog/bine/dementia-and-pets/): Pets can give people with dementia a lot of joy - but may give hard-pressed carers extra work. So what about taking on short-term assignments?
- [A Dementia Carer's Plea: Let's Work Together](https://carecombine.org/blog/stories/dementia-carer-plea-work-together/): Being a dementia carer can be exhausting, dispiriting work, as we fight our battles alone. But if we supported one another, life could be very different.
- [Being Normal](https://carecombine.org/blog/stories/being-normal/): When you’re living with dementia, it doesn’t help when people and circumstances keep reminding you of it. It's better when you can just forget all about it
- [Won't Someone Open This Door?](https://carecombine.org/blog/bine/wont-someone-open-this-door/): It's not just the person diagnosed who's affected by dementia. If you have a parent with dementia, there can be enormous emotional stress too. Here's how we plan to help.
- [Funding Social Care. What's The Big Idea?](https://carecombine.org/blog/opinion/funding-social-care-whats-the-big-idea/): Politicians are vying to outbid one another on their funding plans for health and social care. But is it money the system lacks, or imagination?
- [Inappropriate Behaviour](https://carecombine.org/blog/stories/inappropriate-behaviour/): We're told that people with dementia can have socially inappropriate behaviour at times. The question is, what's appropriate - and who decides?
- [The Dirty Sock & Meaningful Dementia Activities](https://carecombine.org/blog/bine/dirty-sock/): For people with dementia, loss of meaning and purpose is maybe even more important than loss of memory. But here's how we can make them feel useful again.
- [Same Dementia, Different Story](https://carecombine.org/blog/bine/same-dementia-but-a-different-story/): The public perception of dementia is that it's an end-of-life illness. We've seen plenty of evidence that for those who stay active and engaged, the diagnosis is just a new start. We have a different story to tell.

## Pages

- [Carer Tips](https://carecombine.org/carer-tips/): You didn’t choose to be a dementia carer. And the chances are you’ve had no special training. Nor did I. And looking back, there are lots of things I might have done better if I’d known more about dementia at the time. I have no special qualifications – only the gradual accumulation of experience as Lena’s Alzheimers has moved from mild to advanced over the years.  Your journey won’t be the same as ours, because dementia seems to affect everyone differently. But I hope these stories and suggestions will at least help you to understand that you’re not alone.
- [Voices](https://carecombine.org/voices/): There are outstanding stories being written by people living with dementia and their carers, stories that give us deep insight into what it feels like to live with the illness. Our aim is to find the very best stories and story-tellers, and bring them to your attention. If there’s a dementia story-teller who you think needs to be brought to our attention, then please let us know.
- [Newsletter choices](https://carecombine.org/newsletter-choices/): For our newsletter subscribers – helping you to choose the content you’d like us to send. Follow us on social media too Great for a quick chat – and to spread the word with your friends and contacts. Facebook Twitter Linkedin
- [Social Media](https://carecombine.org/social-media/): We’re starting out with The Bine in our own community. But our long-term aim is to change the way we handle dementia care everywhere in the world. Our vision has the potential to change millions of lives for the better. We believe that our approach would significantly reduce the cost of dementia worldwide too – currently estimated at almost $1 trillion a year. But change won’t happen unless we get the word out. Who’s going to do that? You are. We’ve heard a lot recently about the power of social media to do harm. Here’s a way to redress the ... Read more
- [Your Privacy](https://carecombine.org/your-privacy/): Let’s keep this short and simple. Because it is. Like you we’re fed up with people sending emails that don’t interest us and we didn’t ask for. We groan when another bundle of flyers lands on the doormat. And we’ve stopped being polite to the charity workers and religious nuts who wonder whether this might interest us. So this is our commitment to you. We’re not going to contact you – by email, mail, phone, or on your doorstep – unless you ask us to. We’ll never knowingly pass on any details you share with us – like your name ... Read more
- [Our People](https://carecombine.org/our-people/): Here are some of the key people in The Care Combine team – the list will grow in the coming months. Click on the profile picture to find out more about each of us on LinkedIn – where of course we’d be happy to connect with you. Alan Miles Strategist This is not the first time Alan has tackled a challenging social problem. In the 1990’s, people laughed when his company, CareerCraft, announced plans to put young Saudi school and college-leavers into jobs … until several thousand of them proved their worth in positions ranging from bank auditors to delivery ... Read more
- [Latest Posts](https://carecombine.org/latest-posts/): Everything we’ve been talking about recently. Click on an item to read the full article.
- [Thank You](https://carecombine.org/thank-you/): Please check your email We’ve just sent a message to the email address you gave us – we need you to confirm that everything’s correct before we start sending you the weekly emails. If you don’t see an email from us in the next few minutes, be sure to check your spam folder. Sometimes things get lost in there. If you still can’t see anything there, pop us an email from the Contact Us page, and we’ll add your details manually. Ready to return to the site?
- [Typical Dementia Activities at The Bine](https://carecombine.org/typical-dementia-activities-at-the-bine/): Our aim at The Bine is  to set people with dementia to work on activities and projects that they’ll find meaningful, purposeful – and fun. The best dementia activities will have an outcome, giving the participants a sense of achievement and pride. Bine members with more advanced dementia will be able to contribute less, and may need a lot of help. That’s fine. The way we’re setting the Bine up, there will always be plenty of helpers around – including people with mild dementia. And whether we have dementia or not, it’s always good to feel included in a happy ... Read more
- [Introducing The Bine](https://carecombine.org/introducing-the-bine/): What is The Bine? It’s a place where 20-30 people with dementia come together every day of the week during working-hours. In a safe environment and with as much help as they need, they’ll be engaged in real, meaningful projects and activities. What do you mean by ‘purposeful projects and activities’? They do things for their community, for their family and friends, for one another. Like growing vegetables and donating them to a food charity. Or recording stories for the grandchildren. Or performing as a choir. (More ideas here.) How do carers benefit from the Bine? They’ll have the whole ... Read more
- [Our History](https://carecombine.org/history/): [timeline-express]
- [The Bine](https://carecombine.org/bine/): Posts related to The Bine, our network of community activity centres for people living at home with dementia. Also read: An introduction to the Bine  – Typical dementia activities at the Bine.
- [Alan Miles](https://carecombine.org/alan/): If you’ve arrived here, you’re probably looking at the business card I gave you when we met. Thanks for taking the time to check out our website. If you’d like to get in touch, all my contact details and social media links are on the Contact Us page.  There’s a bit more about me at the top of the Our People page – and if you click on my photo there, you’ll get a fuller picture from my LinkedIn profile. I hope you’ll have time to explore the rest of the site too. The Home page gives a pretty good ... Read more
- [Get Involved](https://carecombine.org/get-involved/): Dementia affects us all According to Alzheimer’s Research UK, 24.6 million people in the UK – that’s 38% of the population – know a family member or close friend living with dementia. But in a way, dementia – and our failure to come up with an effective system of dementia care – affects us all. It’s estimated that 25% of our NHS hospital beds are occupied by people with dementia; many of them have no medical reason to remain there, but they can’t be sent home because there’s no care package to support them when they get there. Or then ... Read more
- [Contact Us](https://carecombine.org/contact-us/): What is The Bine?
- [Opinion](https://carecombine.org/opinion/): Sounding off on issues that we care about. Let’s have your opinions too.
- [Stories](https://carecombine.org/stories/): Moments we’ve treasured in our journey with dementia. Moments when we’ve learnt something new or had a flash of insight. Moments that still make us smile. Moments we’d like to share with fellow-travellers to make their path a little easier. If you have a dementia story you’d like to share here too, we’d love to hear from you. Just email us brief details and we’ll tell you how to write a submission.
- [Home](https://carecombine.org/): The Care Combine – 4 life-changing fixes for dementia care The Bine #1Life with meaning and purpose for people with dementiaREAD MOREThe Bine #2Daytime hours free for dementia carersREAD MOREThe Bine #3A stress-free solution when a parent has dementiaREAD MOREThe Bine #4The cost of dementia care is slashed – Quality soarsREAD MORE The Bine – What’s It All About? Background We keep hearing that there’s no money for social care, that we can’t find enough care workers. In the UK alone, dementia costs the country over £26 billion a year. And yet the experts seem to forget that we already ... Read more
- [Blog](https://carecombine.org/blog/)
- [About Us](https://carecombine.org/about/): The Company You might have expected The Care Combine to be registered as a charity. We’re not. Instead we’re setting up as a Community Interest Company – a CIC. What’s the difference? Well, a charity tends to raise its money through donations. We’re not comfortable with that, preferring to operate as a normal business, where people get something in return for the money they choose to pay us. In many ways, in fact, we’ll operate just like a limited company. We’ll be able to raise money by issuing shares, for example. The owners of the business can be employees too, ... Read more


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