margaretkendall community writing

Moments of Joy

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Moments of joy were easy to recall as we went round the room: an unexpected smile from a passer-by, a memory of climbing a mountain, comfort from stroking your cat, settling down with a good novel, a warming cup of tea, the sound of a cheering football crowd, signs of Spring in the park, cuddling a toddler finally succumbing to sleep… It was a topic some had previously discussed (see Small Joys, November 2022 ) and a joy to share some pieces written then with more recent members of the group. 

In a follow-on meeting, Chris Hogben led a relaxed and enjoyable sewing workshop, helping us to capture our thoughts about small joys as we chatted, stitched and unwound.   In the blog post which follows, some of us share the results in images, others have also written reflections.  Enjoy!

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jolenesheehan Chorlton, community, community writing, Manchester, memories

Mapping Our Connections

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We started off 2025 with a brilliant session led by Jean Byrne, who talked about her work with Friends of Longford Park. She demonstrated how creating a community map of groups and resources brought people together in lasting ways. Jean also reflected on how much she learned from the project, discovering the incredible contributions of so many local people and organisations.

Inspired by this wonderful example, I led a follow-up session, where we shared an interactive activity using a giant web of wool to explore the different ways we’re all connected. Together, we considered how these connections are not only shaped by place but also by the histories and stories that tie us to each other over time.

Six members of the group, four men and two women of different ages, seated at one end of the large table, each holding a piece of the web created as part of the exercise. The web stretches into the foreground, showing there are other members of the group also holding it, not included in the photograph.
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jolenesheehan community writing

End of Year Reflections

As we gathered for our end-of-2024 session, we shared a wonderful time connecting with one another and reflecting on the year that has passed. It was a session filled with honesty, contemplation, and the beauty of sharing. Together, we distilled the year into key words and phrases that encapsulated our collective experiences: friends, the beauty of ordinary gentleness, challenge, chaos and disorder, annus horribilis, and perseverance. These words painted a picture of the struggles and triumphs that shaped our journeys over the last 12 months.

Looking forward, we explored the themes we hope will guide us into 2025. Words like acceptance (while seeking ways to move forward), clarity, spaciousness, facing fears, resolves, hoping for improvement, cleansing, and decluttering resonated deeply. By the end of the session, we were left feeling connected, happy, hopeful, and relaxed, with a greater sense of purpose.

Here are our writings about the year that has gone and our hopes for the future…

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margaretkendall community writing, memories

What’s in your wardrobe?

We enjoyed two lively meetings in November sharing our stories about an item of clothing we’d each brought with us, chosen for their special significance. There was so much to talk about! In the second session, we joined a larger group of people in an event forming part of the Being Human Festival, led by Jolene Sheehan, Professor Sophie Woodward (University of Manchester) and Doctor Benjamin Wild (Manchester Metropolitan University). A fuller description of the event and more photographs are available in a news item about the event on the University of Manchester’s web page.

Attendees listening to the speakers
Attendees involved in discussion

Photographs courtesy of the University of Manchester

Read on to discover some of the writing inspired by the first workshop.

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jolenesheehan community writing, intergenerational, memories

Children and Reading

In a fantastic session led by Pauline Omoboye, we explored the world of children’s stories, enjoying and reflecting on a range of texts, music, objects, and creative prompts. The session sparked conversations on what might capture a child’s curiosity, what themes we’d like to use to write a children’s story, our memories of learning to read, reading by ourselves or to others and remembering our own favourite stories.

Here’s a selection of writing from the group, inspired by this wonderful session.

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margaretkendall community writing, Manchester

Memorable concerts or sporting events

Tony introduced our session on this topic by showing us his large collection of concert and football match tickets, programmes and memorabilia going back many years. They included some Manchester City match tickets his uncle had given him from the 1950s. We were amazed at the difference in the entrance prices between then and now!

He got us thinking and talking about our own experiences of attending concerts and sporting events and sharing our memories of what they had meant to us. Some of us recalled specific occasions we’ll never forget and the people we were with, others reflected on the significance in our lives of music and sport, whether or not we were fans ourselves.

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jolenesheehan community writing, memories

Love**Work: Exploring the Connection

In partnership with Arnold & Komarov Wandertheater, and their latest project,  we’ve been exploring the fascinating relationship between love and work. As Trixa and Ilya from the theatre company explain, “We’re examining the positive and negative interactions between love and working life, aiming to understand how people would shape their lives if they had complete freedom.”

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margaretkendall community writing, intergenerational, Manchester, memories

Where were you when…?

Shane opened our meeting by reading a piece he’d written in advance relating to the question “Where were you when..?   The discussion which followed included key events over the past sixty years and explored a variety of themes, for example:  imperfect memories, the blending of fiction with fact, differing perspectives, the relationship between micro and macro events, time, tragedy, and upheaval.  Read on for thought-provoking and moving stories, reflections and poetry written by some of the members of our group.

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jolenesheehan Chorlton, community writing, lockdown, Manchester, memories

The benefits of being in green spaces

In our recent session, we had a wonderful conversation about the vital role of nature and green spaces in our lives. We discussed how the sense of safety that birdsong brings, the calming effect of fractals on our minds, and the beauty of petrichor—the smell of the ground after rain—are all crucial to our well-being.

We also touched on how we often seek these green spaces as we would a lake or a well when the green inside us feels dried up, quenching our thirst for nature. Our talk highlighted the significance of urban design and how living in the city heightens our craving for green spaces. (We love that where we live is so green and lush, even though it’s right by the city!)

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margaretkendall Chorlton, community writing, Manchester, memories

Thoughts and memories about art

Joyce opened our first meeting on this topic with her definition of art as “creative expression of communication of ideas and something, in my opinion, to be treasured”.   We enjoyed seeing examples of her textile art she had brought with her.  In the lively discussions which followed, both in person and online, we shared varied experiences and thoughts about art, but all agreed on its importance in our lives.  We shared how other people in our lives helped us in the past or help us now to appreciate art in all its forms.

On 18th May, as part of Chorlton Arts Festival, we gave participants in our session a taste of what we do in our meetings. Some of us then read out our writing from the blog post which follows.  We hope you enjoy reading our thoughts and welcome any comments of your own at the end.

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