Father and son raise over 100k for Alzheimer's

A video of an elderly man from Clitheroe who has Alzheimer's has gone viral and has raised thousands of pounds.

Published 22nd Aug 2016

A video showing a father and son from Clitheroe singing Quando Quando in a car to help tackle Alzheimer's has raised over 100 thousand pounds.

Simon McDermott filmed car journeys with his dad - who used to be a Butlin's Redcoat - to try and raise money and awareness but also help Ted - who's 79 - cope with the condition.

Online he's known as The Songaminute Man.

On their Just Giving Page 'Mac McDermott' said:

'I'm fundraising for the Alzheimer's Society because of the advice they've given us in the last few years. Without them we would have had very little idea or support about how to deal with even the basics of Dad's condition.

The more Alzheimer's kicked in, the more Dad became violent - both physically and verbally - it was incredibly difficult to manage. And terrifying at times.

Alzheimer's Society provide a telephone helpline to sufferers and their families. I cannot begin to describe how a stranger's voice at the end of the phoneline helped when things got really bad.

Dad was a singer throughout his life - he was a Butlin's Redcoat and then travelled around singing in clubs around the country. He worked in a factory when he got married and did the occasional bit of singing on side. His nickname is The Songaminute Man - simply because of how many songs he knows.

In the last few years his memory has deteriorated a lot - often not recognising me as his son. Its a horrible illness.

However, now when we've got him singing again he's back in the room. It's these moments that we treasure.

The plan is to share as much of Dad's singing as we can and hopefully it will help raise money to fund the work of the Alzheimer's Society - more specifically to go towards paying for a person at the end of the phoneline to help other people like us. '

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A video showing a father and son from Clitheroe singing Quando Quando in a car to help tackle Alzheimer's has raised over 100 thousand pounds.

Simon McDermott filmed car journey's with his dad - who used to be a Butlin's Redcoat - to try and raise money and awareness but also help Ted - who's 79 - cope with the condition.

Online he's known as The Songaminute Man.

On their Just Giving Page 'Mac McDermott' said:

'I'm fundraising for the Alzheimer's Society because of the advice they've given us in the last few years. Without them we would have had very little idea or support about how to deal with even the basics of Dad's condition.

The more Alzheimer's kicked in, the more Dad became violent - both physically and verbally - it was incredibly difficult to manage. And terrifying at times.

Alzheimer's Society provide a telephone helpline to sufferers and their families. I cannot begin to describe how a stranger's voice at the end of the phoneline helped when things got really bad.

Dad was a singer throughout his life - he was a Butlin's Redcoat and then travelled around singing in clubs around the country. He worked in a factory when he got married and did the occasional bit of singing on side. His nickname is The Songaminute Man - simply because of how many songs he knows.

In the last few years his memory has deteriorated a lot - often not recognising me as his son. Its a horrible illness.

However, now when we've got him singing again he's back in the room. It's these moments that we treasure.

The plan is to share as much of Dad's singing as we can and hopefully it will help raise money to fund the work of the Alzheimer's Society - more specifically to go towards paying for a person at the end of the phoneline to help other people like us. '

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