A young singer-songwriter from Co Down is about to launch a new single as a moving tribute to her beloved grandfather, who is living with Alzheimer’s disease.
Bea Stewart from Holywood, who has the same management company as legendary 80’s ska band, Madness, is launching ‘Ice Cream in the Rain’ during Dementia Action Week.
The single charts the journey of losing a loved one to dementia and was produced by Eliot James, who has also collaborated with popular Bangor indie group, Two Door Cinema Club.
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Bea, who recently moved to London to pursue her music dream, said: “My new single is full of nostalgia and memories of good times with my grandparents but is also about the pain of watching someone you love gradually slip away as their dementia deteriorates.
“We may not be able to do the same things we used to but going on trips and eating ice cream in the rain is a vivid memory I have from growing up and I wanted this song to capture that sweet sentiment.”
Bea is also urging everyone to join her in supporting Alzheimer’s Society’s appeal, by wearing a Forget Me Not badge, or fundraising to help provide life-changing support for people living with dementia.
She added: “I’ll be wearing my forget me not badge for my grandad.”
The Alzheimer’s Society’s Forget Me Not Appeal, running throughout May, aims to not only raise vital funds for the charity, but to send a message to everyone affected by dementia that they have not been forgotten.
Barry Smyth, Alzheimer’s Society’s Area Manager for Northern Ireland, said: “There are 27,000 people living with dementia in Northern Ireland and too many are facing it alone.
“This May, Alzheimer’s Society is asking people to wear a Forget Me Not badge, in honour of someone special and to help people living with dementia get the life-changing support they need.
“By wearing a badge and supporting Alzheimer’s Society’s Forget Me Not Appeal, we’re showing people affected by dementia that we understand and stand with them.
“Alzheimer’s Society’s services are a lifeline and have been used over four and half million times in the last year. We support people living with dementia and their families through some of the hardest and most frightening times.”
As well as fundraising during the month, Alzheimer’s Society will also lead Dementia Action Week from 15-21 May, when it will focus on diagnosis and encourage people experiencing dementia symptoms to seek help.
Bea's new single 'Ice Cream in the Rain' is available here.
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