Free Dementia Friends session in the north-east

A north-east centre will play host to a free Dementia Friends Awareness session next month.

Alzheimer’s Scotland will be holding the workshop in the Mintlaw and Central Buchan Initiative community centre on August 3 from noon to 1pm.

The session is interactive and aims to encourage communication within the community about dementia and what it is like to live with the condition.

By attending the hourlong class, it is hoped people will become a Dementia Friend – someone who will talk about it and raise awareness to create a dementia-friendly community.

An Alzheimer’s Scotland spokeswoman said: “The programme aims to transform the way the nation acts, thinks and talks about the condition, as well as challenging the stigma of dementia which still exists for thousands of families.

“Anybody can get involved. It just involves learning a bit more about dementia and the small things you can do to help people with the condition.

“Dementia is the biggest health and social care challenge faced by society today. There are 90,000 people living with dementia in Scotland and it is now estimated that 20,000 people will be diagnosed every year by 2020.”

For further details visit dementiafriendsscotland. org and to book a place contact the MACBI Hub on 01771 624593. in sick but three days later he was followed from the site again and repeated the same trick.

On that occasion his bosses spoke to him and found five parcels he was meant to deliver inside the van. Police were called, and after carrying out a search at his home on Alexander Terrace in Aberdeen, more parcels were discovered.

At Aberdeen Sheriff Court yesterday, the 29-year-old admitted embezzling from the firm between November and December last year.

The court heard Brown had taken the parcels to sell them on as he had built up gambling debts.

Fiscal depute Cheryl Clark said the parcels found inside the house had been ripped open and it was obvious Brown had been selling on the items. She added: “The estimated value of the parcels is £376 but it is not known how much was in the parcels because UPS is simply a delivery company.”

Sheriff Philip Mann deferred sentence for background reports.

Brown will return to court next month.