Earlier this month, Nub News met amateur photographer Phil Lewis. He was then just releasing a calendar filled with pictures of Penarth to raise money for a charity close to his heart: the Alzheimer's Society.

We catch up with him three weeks later for an update.

COVID-19 has hit few communities harder than dementia sufferers and their carers.

Not only has the disease disproportionately blighted those with dementia - perhaps one out of five victims in England and Wales have been diagnosed with it - but it has also attacked the support networks upon which they rely.

Although charities have been strained by a surge in demand for their services due to the coronavirus, most report a sharp decline in donations.

Penarthian Phil Lewis is an amateur photographer who has produced a calendar that aims to help reverse some of these troubling trends.

"I know from personal experience how important the Alzheimer's Society is," he tells Nub News. "Not only does it fund research that aims to find a cure for this dignity-robbing disease, but it also offers totally critical support to people who suffer from dementia and their families.

"My dad got it when he was 63. He had to leave work as a result of it. He had spent all of his life saving for a retirement that he never saw, and the money that he saved didn't got to his wife in the end - it went on his care.

"So it was tragic in so many ways, not least because he was so young.

"I want to emphasise the fact that it's such an undignified disease that has always been impossibly difficult for families. From my experience with my dad at the time, I can only imagine how much more difficult that would be in lockdown."

Filled with gorgeous pictures taken of Penarth during the "blue hour" (30 minutes either side of sunrise), Phil had hoped the calendar would be at least moderately successful within the community.

"But to tell you the truth it's been a whirlwind," he says. "As soon as I said I was doing them, everyone went crazy. I had messages and money coming in from everywhere.

"Since we last spoke I've personally sold 185 calendars, and there are also stocks in Snell's, Foxy's Deli and Bee Happy in the town centre. So we've probably sold over 200 calendars. It's completely exceeded my expectations in that time frame.

"We've still got three months to go until Christmas and I know many will want to buy them as Christmas presents. It's important to emphasise that there's about 250 left. In the early days of this, calendar sales were essentially covering the printing that facilitates sales, but now every single penny raised is going to the Alzheimer's society. If we sell the remainder by Christmas (at £12 each) that'll make a huge difference."

The calendars can be ordered directly from Phil by contacting him at [email protected], or you can pop into one of the aforementioned local shops to get yours.