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Father and daughter duo publish poetry book to raise money for charity




A Fenland father and daughter have written a book of their poems and are now planning to sell the anthology to help a charity close to their hearts.

Adam and his 17 year old daughter Niamh from Manea, are self publishing a poetry book to fundraise for Alzheimer’s Research UK.

The 52-year-old tube driver was inspired to raise money for the charity after seeing and living alongside his mother- in-law Bridget Stevenson who had dementia for six years.

Adam and Niamh Waugh, a father and daughter from Manea, have published a book of poetry together. (53221923)
Adam and Niamh Waugh, a father and daughter from Manea, have published a book of poetry together. (53221923)

Adam and Niamh aim to raise £2,000 for Alzheimer’s Research UK, which powers world-class studies focusing on prevention, diagnosis and treatments for dementia. There are now nearly one million people living with dementia in the UK.

Bridget idolised Niamh and her sister Mia and relocated to Cambridgeshire to be close to them in 2004 when they were both under the age of two. She was originally an accomplished dress maker by trade and used to help them make things with their sewing machine.

Adam said: "It became apparent after a few years that something wasn’t quite right with her behaviour. Bridget would forget routine things and conversations she had with the family, forgetting to collect her granddaughters from school, which was something she did on a daily basis.

For the first few years following Bridget’s diagnosis, she was cared for by us, helping her through her dementia and watching her ability to live a normal life slowly diminish."

Adam continued: "It became more challenging as the years passed by and both her granddaughters had to deal with the heartbreak of seeing their grandmother not coping and having to help her with things such as personal care, when she had always been such a capable immaculate lady. It was a very difficult period for the whole family and eventually we had to come to terms with the fact that Bridget needed 24 hour care in a residential home.

"I self published my first poetry book “Faceless” last year, to raise money from it’s sales for Alzheimer’s Research UK. This was inspired by my daughter Niamh on a train journey back from London. She presented me with a quick poem she had written on the journey which I was blown away by. I wanted to encourage her talent, so we started to have poetry battles where we both had 10 minutes to each write a poem and then compare our results.

"It was a mindful past time for us both during lockdown. Every year I challenge myself to come up with a new fundraising idea and in 2020, this seemed the perfect solution. It seemed only right to make this year’s book a poetry collaboration. Our new book ‘Like Father, Like Daughter', covers a number of topics, including teenage angst and growing old."

The book is due out at the end of this month in the hope it may sell like last year’s as a Christmas gift.

You can make a donation by visiting www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Adam-Waugh1

Or to purchase a copy of the book please make a payment via PayPal.me/adamwaughpoetry

Or you can message Adam on instagram @face_less2020 or email me on facelessadamwaugh@gmail.com

A spokesperson for the regional fundraising officer at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “We’re so grateful to Adam and Niamh for supporting Alzheimer’s Research UK. Dementia affects a significant proportion of the population – one in three people over 65 in the UK will die with some form of the condition. Fantastic fundraising efforts like this will help us to make life-changing research breakthroughs for people with dementia.”

To sponsor Adam and Niamh visit. For further information about Alzheimer’s Research UK, or to find out more about fundraising for the charity, call 0300 111 5555 or visit www.alzheimersresearchuk.org



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