WELCOME / CROESO

Sound Memories radio is a dementia friendly life story & nature project working closely with older people, their families, carers & communities. We create client led memory resources, celebrating life & inspiring a more connected sense of Self. ​Older people have said that they would feel more empowered if they were still able to help each other (Blood : 2013). At Sound Memories, we enable older people to create sound  & story resources that improve the quality of their life & that they then share as resources to help others.
​Over the past 12 years, we have become a multi award winning project, shaped by our growing body of listeners, the older people who kindly volunteer their stories, by partnership working & the ongoing support of our Friends of Sound Memories.  

Window with a view ...
Many thanks to our friend, Rob Taylor, from Ontario, for this beautiful video that he took from his 'window with a view.'  A beautiful black squirrel making the most of a free breakfast in the snow. Rob is an advocate for the benefits of learning an instrument as a way of promoting memory, developing friendships & keeping the mind active. He's a fine musician himself, from guitar to native american flute. Thanks for your video Rob, our radio visitors will love it. If YOU have a window with a view, why not send it in to us, so we can share it with everyone.

Life Story

We  love making life story resources with older people, watching them grow as they remember parts of their story, is magical. We begin by spending quality time, getting to know the person, building trust & truly hearing them. Sometimes the person simply shares their story, other times their interests or hobbies. We write & publish digital stories & books as well as more bespoke items tailored specifically to an individual person's needs, like with our To be in the Now project. 

​ Nature Narratives

As well as prompting fond memories, the sound of nature brings about a sense of peaceful calm & well being, When we create Environmental Sound Maps, we retrace the story remembered by the older person, their family &/or carers, building a sound story around their favourite places of nature, enabling them to connect with a sense of identity through place. We then share the nature narratives here, as part of our resources for others. This enables older people to help each other & empowers kindness. 

SPECIAL FEATURES

OLDER PEOPLE & SOCIAL MEDIA 
Sound Memories Radio Facebook Group now has nearly 400 members & for 3 months we've been running a special weekly feature on how older people are increasingly creating social media content and what's more, going viral! From fun with Jess & Norma, to Sebastian's moving video with his mother Ingrid, who lives with dementia - our Director, Cheryl Beer, finds & shares interesting stories made by or with older people. We've chosen the 4 most popular to give you a taster. 
Picture
​Photo Credit - Social Media Content Creators, Jess & Norma

Remembering Aberfan

As a young man, Bryan Lewis began his ministry on the day of a catastrophic collapse, when a colliery spoil tip fell upon a school of children in a little Welsh village called Aberfan. 21st October 1966, a day etched into the hearts & memories of Wales. Here, Bryan shares with Sound Memories Radio a deeply moving & personal life story of how the disaster shaped him, both as a human being & as a minister. Now 88 years old, Bryan still spends his life serving others. His wife, Janet Lewis, a retired Occupational Therapist, runs Ty Golau, a weekly community project in Kidwelly, promoting cognitive memory for older people. 

Building intergenerational relations

​​We work with the younger generation to share life stories, build bridges, make friends & deconstruct stereotypes that might be held about old age & dementia. We teach children and young people how to work together with the older people in recording and editing, interviewing and the benefits of life story work, in terms of culture, heritage and living history.

Professional Storytellers

Sit back, relax & Listen to our Special Guest Storytellers ... 
Feel free to contact us if you would like to add to our Storytelling Gallery
​If you would like to support our work, ​please visit our GOFUNDME page for more details.