Prince Philip has blast on 98th birthday
What do you get when 14 sufferers go to work for a top chef? The Restaurant That Makes Mistakes
her colourful language. In nail-biting scenes, Lorayne is faced with a group of kids at a four-year-old’s birthday party. Fortunately, she checks her language.
During another awkward scene, 53-year-old former mortgage adviser Sandie Gibbons, from Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, is distracted by a table of handsome fellas from the Bristol Bears rugby club.
Flirting away, she asks for a photo with them, oblivious to staff struggling to keep up with orders.
Sandie, diagnosed with a rare form of dementia aged 51, used to ride motorbikes and was a competitive dancer until her condition affected her speech and balance.
Another volunteer is 23-yearold Jordan Adams – the only one who still has a job, running his own hand-made ceramic tile company. Jordan, from the West Midlands, is the UK’s youngest dementia sufferer, having tested positive for Pick’s disease. He lost his mum to the condition two
years ago. “I watched her go through it all, it was horrible,” he says. “My sister made the decision to be tested for the gene and it was negative but mine was positive. Hopefully, I’ve got 20 years but I’m most likely going to die very young.”
He has a bucket list to go to Hawaii, go skydiving and become a dad.
Also in the restaurant is Avril Staunton, 63, from Somerset, who was a gynaecologist and obstetrician but can no longer remember how old she is due to a rare dementia diagnosed in 2015. Since her diagnosis, she has taken on Mount Kilimanjaro but
often loses her train of LORAYNE BURGESS, 52, DIAGNOSED AT AGE OF 48 thought. Preparing for the restaurant, she says: “If I’m the one that needs to do all the dirty washing, I don’t mind. I just want to do something.”
All the volunteers throw themselves into work, despite suffering from fatigue and often getting distracted. At one point, Roger Postance, 64, from Wolverhampton, who used to be a Formula 1 tyre mechanic, is spotted wandering off.
And there is an emotional moment for 53-year-old Peter Berry, from Suffolk, who has fond memories of running his own sawmilling business and is asked to respond to emails. “I miss that engagement with people,” he says tearfully.
Meanwhile, Jacqui Tunnicliff, 61, a former legal representative from Bristol, tells how she had to give up work when dementia hit her memory and eyesight.
And 62-year-old Sue Strachan, from Herefordshire, reveals she was diagnosed with vascular dementia after forgetting a 24-hour period. “I drove from Herefordshire to Surrey, stayed with friends and chopped down a holly tree. I don’t remember any of it,” she says.
Also volunteering are Joy Watson, 60, a former nurse from Manchester diagnosed with Alzheimer’s on her 55th birthday. The adrenaline junkie prefers
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jet skiing and storm chasing but was happy to try waitressing. And former engineer Pete Trapani, 67, of Westonsuper-Mare, revelled in his role, saying: “I’d always been good at my job. But I struggled when new technology came in. I’ve always been a people person.”
ormer bus driver Sean Blackmore, of Gloucester, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s five years ago at 46. It progressed to dementia. He says: “I’m handy in the kitchen but my wife says I leave the oven on.”
Ex-plumber Steve Vlad, 65 and from Bristol, has frontal-temporal dementia and was keen to make new friends.
And Lesley Morris, 55, from Newport and diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2017, fitted in having worked in a school canteen, a pub and a bakery.
Alzheimer’s Society chief Jeremy Hughes said: “Life doesn’t end when dementia begins. The Restaurant That Makes Mistakes is a fantastic example.” ■ The Restaurant That Makes Mistakes starts tomorrow on Channel 4 at 9pm. Visit alzheimers.org.uk/get-involved HONOUR Duke and Queen THE Duke of Edinburgh was honoured with gun salutes as he celebrated his 98th birthday yesterday.
Prince Philip also had a host of messages, including one from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex – in which Harry and Meghan called him “The Duke of Edinburgh, Sir, Grandpa”.
And Clarence House posted a 1951 snap of him holding the hand of a twoyear-old Prince Charles.
The salutes were fired by The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery in Hyde Park and the Honourable Artillery Company at the Tower of London.
Philip, who retired from public duties in 2017, has been married to the Queen for more than 71 years, making him Britain’s longest-serving consort.
We don’t look like we’ve got dementia because we’re not 94