I was principal carer for my late mother, Peggie, from 2017 until she died in February 2022. It was the best thing I've ever done and the most challenging. The experience made me realise that there is far too much talk about dementia and not enough action. We were lucky: we were able to pull out all the stops to keep Mum at home and do the bulk of the care ourselves, but families like us are not represented by charities, or 'The System'. I think, at best, we are often seen as an anachronism. The truth is, there are a huge number of families and individuals taking on the role, right up to the end who don't want 'support' or waste hours of precious time chasing vague promises of help, only to be offered ................. 'support' or 'signposting'. We want better education and better understanding of what dementia really is and really does to a person. We don't want to be spoken to like idiots because, "in this day and age" who gives up their career like that to provide consistency and care for the person who brought them up? Family carers need to be listened to! They need practical, tangible help and advice tailored to the situation, not to a flow-chart. I hope by raising funds for the Alzheimer's Association, they can continue with research and also use the funds to fight harder for action at policy level and for much, much better education and understanding for those who work in the care sector, let alone everyone else. I hope the funds we raise create some time and space for the charity to really listen.