JOURNALIST and TV presenter Angela Rippon visited Bournemouth University to endorse an exhibition and event put on by its Dementia Institute.

She was among speakers at a two-day leadership event, which aimed to make senior health and local authority chiefs more aware of dementia and the steps they can take to identify and support people affected by it.

And she viewed an exhibition featuring 600 postcards written by members of the public sharing their views on dementia.

Some were written by people with dementia, some by their carers and others by people unaffected by the condition.

The exhibition, put together by artist Derek Eland, will now be featured at a conference in Malta and will then go on the road to a variety of exhibitions in the UK.

Angela, an ambassador for the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “This exhibition shows all of human life. All sorts of impressions of dementia are revealed.

“There is still an awful lot of ignorance around but we are trying to take away the fear of dementia. “Gradually we are getting the message across because it is very important that all of us learn more about it because we will all be affected in some way.”

She said people could “live well” with dementia and said more understanding was needed in society.