About

About Mind Dice


Mind Dice has been designed and produced by John Sprange through his direct experience of caring for his father who had Alzheimer’s. John Sprange writes:

My father had a rich store of memories. He was born in 1914, just as  World War 1 started and as the last horse bus ran in London. He enjoyed his life, was happily married and often said 'I am the luckiest man alive'. He enjoyed the technological advances throughout his life that made life better. Towards the end he liked the pictures on my i-Phone, and marveled at its capabilities.

In his later days, though he forgot what happened  minutes before, he was able to recollect memories from long ago. He often brought to mind the events when he was at his happiest and at the height of his powers. His  repetition was often mitigated by the nuances which emerged through re-telling the stories. They certainly showed his true sense of himself. I experimented with the MindDice which carried, names of people, places and his catchphrases. He would roll it in his hands, reading the prompts and would say. ‘This is my life’ with a sense of surprise.

When he died aged 95 I lost my personal witness to the last century.

The MindDice enabled me to engage with him. The  ‘prompts’  set him recounting his stories and memories. If a name drew a blank several times and triggered  a look of panic, I would  erase and replace it. With my interest raised, I started looking into his past,  to find fresh prompts to initiate his commentary. His catch phrases repeated like an upbeat mantra described this life through wartime and his deep love for  my mother. In his very old age, our happiest moments were spent sharing those recollections together.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.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