WILTSHIRE charity Alzheimer’s Support hosted its first Come Dine with Us evening in Devizes to mark Dignity in Care day.

More than 95 people with dementia and their carers, plus the mayors Devizes, Marlborough and Trowbridge, sat down to a three-course meal in Devizes Town Hall, courtesy of Apetito and Devizes Town Council who provided the venue free of charge.

Sally Haddrell- Jenks, organiser of the event, said: “We wanted to do something really special for people who may not find it as easy to socialise as they once did. Everyone enjoyed getting dressed up for the evening and the feedback we had on the night was amazing.”

The evening started with a power outage, just as guests were due to arrive, causing the dinner to be delayed for half an hour. But things got back on track with the after dinner speaker Joanne Holmes from Bournemouth University changing her slot to a pre-dinner speaker.

Patricia Dobson, who attended with her husband Keith, said: “It was an absolutely wonderful evening. Everything was first class and everyone made such an effort. We are so grateful to Alzheimer’s Support and everyone who made it possible.”

The charity’s day care services manager Grant Newton, who is also a photographer, took a commemorative photo of guests posed in the Mayor’s chair to keep as a memory of the evening.

Cllr Roger Giraud- Saunders, Mayor of Devizes, said: “After that heart-stopping moment at the start of the evening you all rose to the challenge and created a really wonderful night out. I hope this is something that happens again.”