Views

Papa’s Club

Catherine McLucas and Lauri Reid who have been attending our Sporting Memories Scotland Club in Dunfermline for nearly two years, thanks to their unique connection and the ongoing support they feel from the Club. 

Catherine originally accompanied her husband Tom to the club, which is run on Tuesday mornings. Tom had been diagnosed with dementia, and with the help of their neighbour Lauri, they started to bring Tom to sessions, with Lauri stepping in for Catherine when she wasn’t able to make it.  

Right from the start and to this day Catherine and Lauri are enthusiastic members of the Club and will always be ready to lend a hand, getting stuck into all the activities on offer and generally just bring joy and laughter to the weekly meeting 

Tom had to go into full-time care at the end of the summer in 2024, but Catherine and Lauri still attend the Club sessions - so, we got in touch with them to find out why? 

Catherine started the conversation by referencing the warm nature of the Club. 

“I like the company, the chat and it is just a nice place to come. The family have always had an interest in sport. Tom played Sunday League and then went on to refereeing. In fact, the whole family like the club when they can come.”  

Bringing different generations to ‘Papa’s Club’ 

Catherine looks after her grandsons during holiday time and she started to bring them to the sessions a while back. 

She continued: “People are a bit more understanding of your situation because everybody here is touched in one way or another by dementia, depression and loneliness.” 

Her grandsons, Finn and Ruaridh, love when they can come and call it “Papa’s club”. They enjoyed the way that the others speak to them like adults and take a genuine interest in their sporting activities. Games days were their favourite and the youngsters really enjoyed getting ‘stuck in’ and playing on “’Papa’s Team’.  

Catherine also indicated how the young ones seem to have an intuitive understanding of the needs of older members. For example, 4-year-old Ruraidh passes some hoops to wheelchair bound 90-year Ramsay without being told to during sessions so he can carry on playing. She felt it was a good way for kids to understand these illnesses and not be afraid.  

Making friends at Sporting Memories 

Catherine and Lauri are well-loved members of the group and played a huge part in the recent Dunfermline fundraising evening – which you can read about here.

Part of the reason for that love and support is the community feel of the Club in Dunfermline and the ease at which friendships and bonds are built.   

Lauri who is a recently retired dental specialist hygienist and worked with elderly and disabled patients, has become a background stalwart at the club. No coffee cup remains empty and everyone has a wee treat for break time when Lauri’s there. Lauri pretty much echoed Catherine’s thoughts on why she still comes along.   

“I’ve made new friends and like the format. With the quizzes I have learnt so much and I love listening to the stories, it’s really wonderful. Having seen my Dad, who had dementia and found it difficult to socialise, I realised quickly that Sporting Memories makes it very easy for all to come along. Every illness, diagnosis and situation is left at the door and we are all just friends having a laugh”  

Catherine finished our conversation off by summarising how Sporting Memories helped to remove the stigma around dementia-focused groups.   

“We were never clubby type people. We did try other dementia and carer type clubs, but it seemed that everyone just wanted to talk about dementia. However, at Sporting Memories the format of everyone together just works”.