GEOFF Tynan has captured his Uncle Ron’s take on life on camera for a poignant film.

The keen photographer used his Carer’s Wellbeing Grant towards a camera stabiliser, a gadget giving his camera a steady shot, to help him film Ron Fawcett talking about living with dementia.

Ron Fawcett, 88, moved from Birkenshaw to Geoff’s Shipley home in April last year after he was diagnosed with dementia and it become apparent his condition was progressing.

“I wanted to get a picture of what dementia is like and to show a real conversation with someone who has the condition,” says Geoff. The filmed half-hour conversation focuses on Ron sitting in their front room, chatting with Geoff. The film is interspersed with images of Ron as a young man, in his former job as a TV and electrical engineer and with his late partner, Marion. There's also footage of Ron getting ready for the day and the two men on their morning walk to the 'paper shop.

Geoff has been supported as a carer through Carers’ Resource, which he heard about through a friend who volunteered at the charity. “We have so much available in Shipley; the range of medical services, Carers’ Resource and Alzheimer’s Society," says Geoff. “The hardest part about being a carer is that Ron has never really been one to socialise, I get a bit frustrated but I have to learn to be patient. We go to the church cafe, Cuppacare, in Shipley for lunch twice a week, it does us both good.”

Geoff’s decision to move his uncle in was prompted by a 'phone conversation. “He seemed really down and said he wondered 'if it’s worth carrying on’. That’s when I knew something had to change," says Geoff. “He was losing weight and I was worried he wasn’t eating properly, he was living on his own and I wasn’t sure if he was taking his medication.

“Now he’s here, we have a good routine, I know he’s eating properly and he has his stereo set up in his bedroom so he can listen to classical music, jazz and Elvis.”

Geoff was helped by Carers’ Resource in applying for Attendance Allowance for Ron. “It’s very reassuring to know Carers’ Resource is there should I need them,” adds Geoff.

Geoff’s film, Living with Dementia, is on his YouTube channel, along with slide shows of his photography of local life and landscapes.

The work of carers like Geoff will be celebrated during Carers Week (June 11-18), and building carer-friendly communities is a key factor. Carers’ Resource, which supports 13,000 unpaid carers across the Bradford district, will host events reaching out to those looking after someone who is frail, has a disability or illness, or addiction. Carers’ Resource chief executive Chris Whiley says: “One of the biggest challenges is that a lot of carers don’t identify with the word ‘carer’. People who look after a friend or relative often don’t realise they're a ‘carer’ because caring for them is part of their relationship. We hear many people saying: ‘I’m not a carer, it’s what I do’.

“We work with GP surgeries and medical centres to make sure carers are identified - identified early, at point of diagnosis not crisis - to help ensure they don’t fall through the net. If people aren’t aware, they don’t know they're entitled to support from organisations like Carers’ Resource. For carers to be supported, so they can care with confidence and stay healthy to do so, there needs to be a much wider recognition and respect for their role, and a greater understanding of challenges they face."

Anyone can become a carer at any time. According to Carers' Resource, three in five of us will become a carer in our lifetime. A caring role can be instant, following a road accident or a stroke for instance, or can creep up, when an elderly parent becomes ill or frail. More than three million carers in the UK juggle work and caring responsibilities, and about 45 per cent have had to give up work. In 2015 report Prepared to Care, 61per cent of carers struggled to maintain friendships due to demands of caring. The economic value of carers in the UK is £132bn a year.

Carers' Resource provides one-to-one support, information, support groups, employment and training advice, and planning for emergencies.

* Visit carersresource.org

Carers’ Resource has organised the following events for Carers Week, from June 11-18.

Libraries in Bradford, Shipley, Keighley, and Bingley will have carers’ information displays throughout Carers’ Week. There will also be a display of information in the large display window in Airedale Shopping Centre, Keighley.

Monday, June 12:

Staff and information stand at Crosshills Surgery, Holme Lane, Cross Hills, Keighley, 9.30am - 12 noon; Parkside Surgery, Horton Park Avenue, Great Horton, 9am – 12 noon; Britannia House, Bradford, 10am – 2pm; Barclays Bank, Market Street, Bradford, 10am – 2pm

Visit to Motiv8 (South Bradford Vocational Centre) Huddersfield Road, Wyke, to talk to Health and Social Care Students about Carers’ Resource and the contribution made by unpaid carers, from 10am.

Tuesday, June 13:

Staff and information stand at Bradford Royal Infirmary, 11am - 2.30pm; Sunnybank Medical Practice, Wyke, 10am – noon; Britannia House, Bradford, 10am – 2pm; Carers Art Group, Carers’ Resource, Broughton Hall Business Park, Church Lane, Broughton, Skipton, 10am - 12pm.

Ukulele band Carers Week celebration at Time for Me (for carers, former carers and over-50s), at The Hub, Stone Grove, Steeton, 10am - 12noon.

Massage and meditation, Live Well, Care Well carers’ wellbeing group, Shipley office, Park View Court, Shipley, 6.15 - 7.30pm.

Wednesday, June 14

Staff and information stand at Grassington Surgery, Station Road, Grassington, 9.30am – 12 noon.

Pop-up cafe for carers and families at Scoff @ Greatwood & Horseclose Community Centre, North Parade, Skipton, from 12noon.

Staff and information stand, Sainsburys, Greengates, 10.30am – 2pm; Cancer Support, 45a Armoury House, Otley Street, Skipton, 10am – 12noon.

Young Carers Video Production, Otley Street Youth Centre, Skipton, 6.30pm - 8pm.

Carers' tea party and pamper treat, Carers' Resource, Shipley office, 2.30pm to 4pm. Relax with a cuppa and cake, and book a free 10-minute massage or reflexology (hand or foot) session with qualified therapists.

Thursday, June 15:

Parent Carers coffee morning, Skipton Children’s Centre, Brougham Street, Skipton, 10am – 12noon.

Staff and information stand at Dyneley House Surgery, Newmarket Street, Skipton 10am – 12noon, Sainsbury’s Keighley, 10.30am – 2pm; Knit, Stitch and Natter, Greatwood & Horseclose Community Centre, North Parade, Skipton, from 10.30am, Airedale Hospital, Steeton, 11am -3pm; University of Bradford, The Atrium, 10.30 – 2.30pm.

Carers Tea Party, Utopia, Broughton Hall Estate, Church Lane, Broughton, Skipton, from 2.30pm. To book a place contact Val Stewart on (01756) 700888.

Staff and information stand at Haigh Hall Medical Practice, Greengates, plus Age UK and Patient Participation Group, 3.30pm – 5.30pm.

Friday, June 16:

Staff and information stand at Motiv8 (South Bradford Vocational Centre) Huddersfield Road, Wyke, 10am -12pm; Canalside Health Care Centre, Kingsway, Bingley BD16 4RP, 1pm – 2pm.

Carers Week Celebration, music and entertainment, with singer Mikey May, at Kirkgate Centre, Shipley, from7pm. For tickets and more details call Richard Dunbar on (01274) 449660 or email rdunbar@carersresource.org

Saturday, June 17:

Young people go the extra mile for carers, fundraising event by Bradford Youth Service for Carers’ Resource, Roberts Park, Saltaire, 1-4pm

Young people will dress in super hero costumes and walk the equivalent of the Coast-to-Coast route of 192 miles around Roberts Park. For details email carys.bose@bradford.gov.uk