Tapping Feet: A Double-take on Care Homes and Dementia

Norman Mair, who achieved the rare feat of playing rugby and cricket for Scotland, had dementia across his last eight years. This book explores his illness from the point of view of family members while touching on the lighter side of this shocking condition. Mair's last two years were spent in a care-home where he took it for granted that his fellow patients were as obsessed with sport as he was himself. When Norman's wife, Lewine, played the home's grand piano, it was as if a referee's whistle had sounded. Foot-tapping would start and stories would begin to stir - some sports-related, others simply heartwarming. The residents themselves were inspirational, with their input prompting everything from tears to laughter. In many respects, Tapping Feet also serves to remind people, especially those who might be on the point of placing a relative in a care home, that these establishments are nowhere near as gloomy as they are so often made out to be. Head for Change, the book's charitable partner, will receive one third of the profit from sales.

Norman Mair, who achieved the rare feat of playing rugby and cricket for Scotland, had dementia across his last eight years. This book explores his illness from the point of view of family members while touching on the lighter side of this shocking condition. Mair's last two years were spent in a care-home where he took it for granted that his fellow patients were as obsessed with sport as he was himself. When Norman's wife, Lewine, played the home's grand piano, it was as if a referee's whistle had sounded. Foot-tapping would start and stories would begin to stir - some sports-related, others simply heartwarming. The residents themselves were inspirational, with their input prompting everything from tears to laughter. In many respects, Tapping Feet also serves to remind people, especially those who might be on the point of placing a relative in a care home, that these establishments are nowhere near as gloomy as they are so often made out to be. Head for Change, the book's charitable partner, will receive one third of the profit from sales.