BUSY railway stations can be bewildering places at the best of times. People rushing about, platform announcements you can barely hear above crowd noise, and screens constantly flashing with information can all make for a stressful experience.

So imagine what it’s like trying to find your way around such a place if you have dementia.

“It was the ticket machine that got me,” says Derek Clegg. “There were three different types of tickets - one you scanned, another you put in a slot, another was printed out on a long piece of paper, like a receipt. I watched the person in front of me, but their ticket wasn't the same as mine. I looked at the sign and I read ‘Platform 108’, which confused me. It was actually 10B. I found it a very overpowering place.”

Derek visited Leeds Station to assess its ‘dementia friendly’ qualities. As a member of Bradford’s Face It Together (FiT) group, he takes on a ‘mystery shopper’ role, visiting places such as leisure centres, civic buildings and medical centres to check out facilities and how staff interact with customers.

Derek, 75, was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2014. “I kept forgetting things but thought it was just getting older,” he says. “It was picked up at the medical centre when I went for my annual 'MOT', for my heart condition, and I was referred to my GP.”

After attending a memory clinic, Derek underwent an MRI brain scan. “When they said dementia it was a shock,” he says. “I used to work for Bradford Council, driving people to day centres. I remember chatting with a man who had dementia, he suddenly said, ‘Are you my dad?’ To me, that's what dementia was.

“But I decided: ‘This is how it is. I have to live with it and I’ll do the best I can’. In a way it’s given me a new lease of life - since joining the FiT group I’ve done things I’d never have done before.”

Through the Alzheimer’s Society, Derek met Bev Fletcher, co-ordinator of Bradford’s District Dementia Action Alliance (DDA), which helps organisations become Dementia Friendly. This involves making premises accessible to people with dementia and raising staff awareness of how to meet their needs. Businesses and organisations, from corner shops to West Yorkshire Fire Service, have joined the initiative.

The DDA works with FiT, inviting people with dementia and memory problems to assess public places and services. Bev reports on their feedback. Derek has been a member of FiT for three years. “It’s the best thing I’ve done,” he says. “I’ve met interesting people, made new friends. Nobody judges you; we’re all in the same boat and we share experiences. We have a laugh, and we shed a few tears too.”

Of his ‘mystery shopper’ role, Derek says: “It makes me feel useful. And if it helps someone-else, it’s a good thing.”

His assignments include checking out changing facilities at swimming pools and self-service tills in supermarkets, travelling by train to assess buying tickets and finding platforms, taking part in health centre audits, and assessing signage, leaflets and testing food at hospitals. He was also involved in making a video on bus travel for Metro. “Bus timetables are complicated. We suggested things like colour coding, linear maps - showing the distance between where you get on and off - personalised bus timetables and audio announcements for bus stops,” says Derek. “I went to Idle and jumped on a bus to go home. It was the right number, but the wrong direction. I couldn’t make sense of the timetable on the bus stop.”

Derek talks about his experiences at places such as care homes, dementia groups and Bradford College. Last year he addressed a Japanese business delegation visiting Bradford to learn about the district’s Dementia Friends programme. “I would never have done public speaking before. Being with FiT has given me confidence,” he says.

Derek is one of just over 5,000 people in the district affected by dementia. “Sometimes my memory is good, other times I can’t remember what I had for breakfast. I try to stay positive, but some days are better than others,” he says. “Sometimes I wake up in the night not knowing where I am, it’s frightening. My doctor says, ‘You look alright’. How am I supposed to look? It’s not like my arm is in a sling or my leg is in a pot.”

Derek and his wife Sylvia met when they were both 17. Married for 54 years, they have two sons and four granddaughters. Originally from Bradford Moor, Derek started working in a weaving shed after school and became a general manager, working in textiles for 50 years.

Dotted around the pretty garden of the couple's Baildon home are lovely garden figurines. Derek makes them in his shed, from moulds he designed. “It helps me relax," he says. "I used to do photography but started having difficulty with the equipment, so I was advised to try another hobby. I like to keep busy."

What shines through from Derek is his infectious - and inspiring - positivity. “People don’t like talking about dementia, but Derek is straight with people; he lets them know he has it,” says Sylvia. “Sometimes he goes quiet, like he's sitting back a little, but he doesn’t get depressed. He can remember all sorts of things - he'll watch a football match on TV then discuss every detail - but occasionally he'll get stuck on things like working out coins. He's very open about it.

"I was so daunted by it at first but he accepted it straight away. It's Derek who has supported us, as a family.”

"There's more awareness generally now," adds Derek. "When I was diagnosed, one of our granddaughters read books on dementia and talked to me about it. Another one did the Memory Walk with me. Dementia is affecting more people, of all ages, and we're learning more about it."

The contribution that Derek and other FIT members make enables the DDA to develop and monitor services meeting the needs of people with dementia and their carers. "Providing a platform for people to share their experience of living with dementia is a powerful force for educating and challenging perceptions of dementia," says Bev.

“A friendly, understanding attitude among people they meet is the most important thing, people with dementia tell us. It helps them to live the way they want.

"Derek is a huge support to everyone at FiT. He always volunteers first. His enthusiasm is wonderful."

* For more about FiT call (01274) 586 008 or email bradford@alzheimers.org.uk