It began with two men, a car and a care home.

The first man was Richard Ernest, a tall friendly sort, who had recently lost his job and split up with his partner.

The second man was Richard's elderly neighbour, Sydney Swash, a 98-year-old who loved fish and chips and good conversation.

The pair lived in a small market town in Gloucestershire and the early days of their friendship were mostly spent in Richard's car, a worn-out Ford Mondeo.

Sydney's wife suffered with dementia. For her own safety she was in a care home nearby but not quite close enough for Sydney to walk there easily to visit her.

So over a period of several months, Richard drove Sydney to and from the care home to see his wife.

During the many journeys, they chatted about the weather, about life and love, and when she died the pair became close friends.

They would go out to the cinema together and take a trip down to the local pub.

Sometimes they'd just go driving, Sydney either snoozing beside him or reminiscing about life in the 1950s and regaling Richard with stories of the war.

Even when it was time for Sydney himself to go into a care home, his buddy continued to spend time with him.

"I'd never been in a care home before, I'd never witnessed dementia, never heard of it before, and everything just stemmed from that," says Richard.

"I used to wait in reception and have a cup of tea and had people come up to me thinking I was their son or husband."

He spoke to them all. There were some who, in their mind, were living in the 1950s and 60s, back in a world of carbolic soap and Peggy Sue.

Richard was fascinated. He began to delve into the realms of dementia and Alzheimer's research and realised the importance of familiarity for sufferers.

He recognised the need for more stimulating surroundings for those living with the degenerative illness.

Spurred on by Sydney, he decided to create a type of reminiscence room, where people with dementia could go back in time.

Even better, Richard thought, if the memory rooms could pop up whenever or wherever they were needed, such as in care homes or hospitals, to help ease their anxiety.

Richard was volunteering and working in care. He had a new partner in his life and a baby on the way, meaning there wasn't much money to spare for a project like this.

Looking back, he says, it "seems crazy" but he got a credit card, put £3000 into the business, and didn't look back.

In July this year, he delivered his 1000th RemPod, his design of the specially constructed pods built to help dementia patients.

The project has been rolled out across the UK and even as far as Australia, though this week the location is East Lothian, where five of the specially designed pods will be installed.

Bought by the Walk With Scott Foundation, set up by local fundraising hero Scott Glynn, the pods go on show to the public this July before being set up in local care homes.

The foundation aims to provide every care home and day centre in East Lothian with one of the pop-up rooms over the near future.

Each of the RemPods is designed to capture snippets of an era, from an old-fashioned cinema to a tool shed or 1950s home.

The five pods, which are being donated to the people of East Lothian by the foundation, replicate a living room, tea room, cinema, garden shed and the seaside.

The nostalgic designs also include everyday items to touch and smell, alongside objects such as vintage-style television sets with newsreels from the past.

Carbolic soap and reproduction packaging of vintage brands including Spam, Omo and Pilot Matches are dotted about, too.

Medical staff at other care homes and hospitals who have already trialled the pods, say they have seen them help older residents strike up conversation and reminisce - and support people with dementia so they feel safe and secure.

"I saw a man and his wife, who has dementia, sit together watching a film in one of the pods, and it prompted them to talk about past holiday experiences they had shared," says Emma Carter, a specialist occupational therapist and Chichester Hospital

"When I came back an hour later they were both still there, talking together - it really looked like they were having a special time together in a calm, less-clinical environment."

Dr Simon O'Donovan, Clinical Director of Mental Health Services for Older People at Bangor University, went further.

"There is some research evidence to suggest that use of RemPods may be equally as effective as some of the medication that we use so it does have a really important place," he says.

Alongside simple tools such as talking, viewing old photographs or listening to music in a pod, care staff in East Lothian will use the pods to help ease any distress or anxiety residents may be feeling.

The first set of pods will be housed at Crookston Care Home in Tranent and made available for use across the county.

Richard is happy to see them being used to help others.

Since launching the pods, he has received backing from two judges on BBC2's Dragons' Den and has gone on to develop wall features that imitate window views from country homes or train carriages.

The LCD screens mean the "windows" can play hours of scenic countryside footage, making patients feel as though they really are sitting in a train carriage.

The entrepreneur has also designed relaxing sky panels.

Built to create an authentic illusion of blue skies and sunshine, they can help to bring the outdoors in for those who are bed-bound.

It has been eight years since Richard first launched his idea and he says he cannot believe how much his life has turned around since meeting Sydney.

He continued to visit his old friend as often as he could, until Sydney passed away four years ago.

"He got to see them before he died," says Richard.

"I took him to a demo in Swindon and we had fish and chips. I like to think he understood what they could do, though I'm sure he thought me crazy."

Richard's next plan is to focus on the creation of a purpose-built village, an alternative day centre for people with dementia and their families.

Featuring chip shops, vintage pubs and retro cinemas, he hopes to create a safe environment catering especially for them, with the staff there fully trained care workers.

The sky panels can bring the outside in. RemPods

Richard is modestly proud of what he has achieved and says he is proudest of how the project has brought his own family together.

"It has been a big old journey, definitely, but it's about the human side and I really love that," adds Richard.

"My mum works with me, she's a bookkeeper and my dad is a foreman working with the building team.

"We don't want to stop, we want to keep going and keep coming up with ideas to help dementia sufferers have a better quality of life."