• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
    • First Time Here?
    • Archive
    • London Blogs
  • Blog
  • Travel
    • London Theater Tickets
    • Shopping
    • Tips
    • Tours
    • Transport
    • Maps
    • Parks
    • Resources
    • Restaurants
    • Top 10 London
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Buildings
    • Food
    • London Books
    • Movies
    • Museums
    • Music
    • Pubs
  • Londonism
    • Reviews
    • Fun London
    • Iconic London
    • Life in London
    • London Realities
    • Moving to London
    • Politics
  • The Tube
  • London History
    • Great London Buildings
    • Great Londoners
  • Contact
  • Guidebooks
    • 101 London Travel Tips – Guidebook
    • 101 Free Things to do in London

Londontopia

The Website for People Who Love London

You are here: Home / Culture / Dementia charity to make giant scarf to wrap around Royal Albert Hall

Dementia charity to make giant scarf to wrap around Royal Albert Hall

Jul 21, 2022 By Londontopia Staff Leave a Comment

Knitters have put their needles to the test in a bid to create a giant scarf to cover the Royal Albert Hall for a dementia charity, with one claiming to have a “magic ball of wool.”

The Lewy Body Society intends to wrap a 244-meter scarf around the concert hall on September 22, to support those living with Lewy body dementia – a condition that affects movement, thinking skills, mood, memory, and behavior.

Help us raise awareness of Lewy body dementia by wrapping the entire Royal Albert Hall in London (244m) in a huge scarf!🧣
There's still lots of time to join the many volunteers who are already knitting, including the wonderful Dame Prue Leith DBL 🧶https://t.co/xUeWnytFrR pic.twitter.com/SAkkeb1OFy

— Lewy Body Society (@lbsorg) April 26, 2022

It has called upon keen knitters to join the project, called #AScarfForLewy, with celebrities including Bake Off’s Dame Prue Leith already contributing.

Marian Kane, 68, from Belfast, Northern Ireland, knitted a scarf for the project as her mother, Kathleen, died with Alzheimer’s – another form of dementia – in 2018, at the age of 95.

Her son, Joe Kane, a doctor and researcher who specializes in Lewy body dementia, told the PA news agency that his mother initially took up knitting to make a copy of his two-year-old son Luke’s favorite teddy bear in case it got lost, but then came across the project.

Teddy that was the inspiration behind Marian's scarf (Joe Kane)
The teddy that was the inspiration behind Marian Kane’s scarf (Joe Kane/PA)

“When she learnt about (the campaign), she really wanted to contribute. She thought it was a really good idea to show the close partnership between the UK and Ireland,” the 38-year-old said.

“Mum felt very privileged to look after granny, but it was years of what eventually became 24/7 care. As I see with a lot of my patients’ families, it’s hard and often relentless work – and mum and dad did get exhausted at times.”

People holding a scarf
The Lewy Body Ireland scarf pictured with the delegates at an international conference in Newcastle last month (Joe Kane/PA)

The green and purple scarf, which has the words Lewy Body Ireland on it, pays homage to Ireland, and the dye which allows scientists to see Lewy bodies under a microscope.

Lisa McAllister, a partner in an insolvency practice, said, “I better get a move on” when asked how she felt about helping to make a scarf to cover the Royal Albert Hall.

She added: “I also believed at one point I had a magic ball of wool as no matter how much knitting I did, the ball of wool never appeared to go down.”

The 49-year-old, who lives in Wigan, said she felt compelled to take part in the campaign after meeting the charity’s chief executive, Jacqui Cannon, at a rugby event in March 2020 and admiring the fact that she works “tirelessly to raise awareness of the condition.”

“The campaign really caught my attention as it is a campaign that I thought a lot of people could get involved in (even me a non-knitter),” she said.

She added that she hopes the event will help “many more people become aware of the condition”.

Orange knit on a grey sofa
Lisa McAllister’s scarf in progress (Lisa McAllister/PA)

Ms. Cannon said that the giant scarf symbolizes the wraparound support for those with the condition.

The deadline for getting scarves in is August 15, and they have to be 30cm or a foot wide and can be any length.

After they are taken down from the Royal Albert Hall, the scarves will be separated and donated to homeless and refugee groups, with celebrity scarves to be auctioned off.

Londontopia Staff
Author: Londontopia Staff

This article was submitted and adapted by Londontopia Staff and used with a license from the Press Association UK (PA Media). All images and content used with permission.

close

Free London News

Get the latest news on London history, culture, travel, exhibitions, and more right in your inbox!

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Share this:

  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit
  • Pocket

Filed Under: Culture, London News, Music

Subscribe to Our Free London Updates

Free London News

Get the latest news on London history, culture, travel, exhibitions, and more right in your inbox!

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

About Londontopia Staff

This article was submitted and adapted by Londontopia Staff and used with a license from the Press Association UK (PA Media). All images and content used with permission.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to Our Free London Updates

Free London News

Get the latest news on London history, culture, travel, exhibitions, and more right in your inbox!

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Get the Anglotopia/Londontopia App

Our Advertisers

If you are a mobile gamer, you may want to take a look at UK’s new mobile casinos and slots reviewed by NewCasinoUK.

Join the London Forum

  • Mudlarking
  • MY FAVOURITE PLACE IN LONDON
  • What's Your Favorite Place in London?
  • Paddington Station

London Guide

  • Ten Cheap Things You Can Do in London on a Budget
  • Ten London Exhibitions to Look Forward to in 2023
  • London’s Non-Free Museums: Your Guide to London’s Museums That Charge Admission
  • Trip Planning: Top 10 Exhibitions To Plan Your 2018 Trips to London Around
  • London Guide: Our Favorite Restaurants in London – London Restaurant Recommendations for Americans – What’s Your Favorite?

Connect With Us

  • Facebook
  • RSS Feed
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Support Londontopia

Search our Extensive Archive

Top 10 London

  • Ten Unusual Exhibits to See in London
  • London Pubs: Ten Thameside Pubs for a Pint and a View
  • Top 10 London: Ten More Things to Do Along the River Thames
  • Top 10 London: Top Ten Shopping Centers in London
  • Museums of London: Ten Overlooked London Museums
  • Top 10 London: Top Ten Things to See and Do in Haggerston
  • Top 10 London: Top Ten Things to See and Do in Haringey
  • Top 10 London: Top Ten Things to See and Do in Redbridge
  • Top 10 London: Top Ten Things to See and Do in Hillingdon
  • Top 10 London: Top Ten Things to Do in Canonbury

Recent Posts

  • Poet Lemn Sissay ‘over the moon’ to receive Freedom of the City of London
  • English Heritage has unveiled six new blue plaques for London
  • National Portrait Gallery to reopen in June with two special exhibitions
  • Exploring The Cosmic House in London
  • Ten Social Media Accounts to Follow for Londonphiles
  • New Royal Academy Exhibition: Treasures from Spain and the Hispanic World
  • Pollock’s Toy Museum in London Has Closed Unexpectedly
  • The Fiver:  Five Live-Action Children’s Shows Set in London
  • In Pictures: Winter Lights festival returns to London for first time since 2020
  • Tube and London bus fares to rise by nearly 6% from March

Best Posts on Londontopia

  • 101 London Travel Tips
  • Top 100 London Attractions
  • How to Find the Cheapest Airfares to London
  • 10 Things NOT to do in London
  • Best London Guidebooks
  • 101 Free Things to do in London
  • London Lingo – A London Word Dictionary
  • Top 7 Tips for Doing London on the Cheap
  • Top 11 Myths American Believe about London
  • Guide to Eating in London
  • Best Times of Year to Travel to London
  • London Packing Tips
  • Top 11 Movies Set in London
  • Top Attractions off the Tourist Track
  • Top 5 Most Amazing London Hotels
  • Top 10 Hostels in London
  • Best Views in London Restuarants
  • London Taxi Ettiquette
  • Top 12 London Views
  • Great Fire of London
  • A Guide to Five of London’s Bridges
  • 10 Random Facts and Figures about Trafalgar Square
  • Top 100 British Slang Words

London Places to Explore

Bloomsbury Buckingham Palace Canary Wharf City of London Covent Garden Cutty Sark Greenwich Hampstead Hampton Court Palace Heathrow Houses of Parliament Hyde Park Imperial War Museum Islington Kensington Kensington Palace Leicester Square London London Eye London Transport Museum Museum of London National Gallery Notting Hill Piccadilly Circus Putney Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Regent's Street Royal Academy Selfridges Somerset House Southbank Southwark St Pancras St Paul's Cathedral Tate Britain Tate Modern The City Tower Bridge Tower of London Trafalgar Square V&A Wandsworth West End Westminster Westminster Abbey

SIGN-UP FOR FREE LONDON WEEKLY UPDATES!

Please enter a valid email address
That address is already in use
The security code entered was incorrect
Thanks for signing up

Recent Videos

Walk Around London Virtually Right Now – Watched Walker is the YouTube Channel We All Need Right Now

Jason Hawkes Shares a Beautiful Video of London From Above That We All Need Right now

London Tube: You’ve Got to Watch This Amazing Mesmerizing Animation That Shows the Real Geography of the London Underground

Video: The Basics of Crossrail – London’s New Underground Line

London History: The Place Where Old London Double Decker Buses Went to Die

London Video: A Look at the Great Smog of London

Tube and London bus fares to rise by nearly 6% from March

What is Crossrail 2 and What is Its Current Status?

London Alert: Strike by London Underground workers to go ahead after last-minute talks fail

London Mayor hails Elizabeth line as direct routes and Sunday services begin

Elizabeth line fully opens and offers more direct journeys

Tube poet encourages writers to ‘bring who they are to the field’

Footer

About Londontopia

Londontopia is simply the website for people who love London. It was founded by Jonathan & Jackie Thomas from Anglotopia.net as a place to post articles solely focused on London and its environs. Keep up with all the latest London news at Londontopia! This site is geared towards people who love to visit London and our primary audience is North American but everyone is welcome!

When We’re in London Next

We don’t currently have any travel plans to London but hope to visit at some point in 2021.

  • SEO Backlinks
  • Travel Blog

SIGN-UP FOR FREE LONDON WEEKLY UPDATES!

Please enter a valid email address
That address is already in use
The security code entered was incorrect
Thanks for signing up

Copyright © 2023 Anglotopia, LLC · Website Developed by Anglotopia, LLC · Log in