margaretkendall community writing, intergenerational, memories

Back to school

Hear this blog post read aloud:

It wasn’t difficult to turn back the clock to our schooldays!  

We started by sharing a word or two each about our memories and/or the emotions they stirred. This resulted in a list which illustrates the variety of our responses, both positive and negative: unpredictability, learning, discovery, stickers, administration, teachers in my family, nightmare, corporal punishment, humiliation, envy, inequality, lost friends, solidarity, structure, judgement, uniforms, crowded trains and buses, a particular teacher, a flood of memories.

 Joe Sykes then guided us skilfully in a time of individual reflection, using the prompts:

  • What experiences at school have shaped you?
  • What educational experiences did you have outside of school? (e.g. school trips, residentials etc.)
  • What happened at break time and lunch time?  (e.g. sports, arts, music, drama, involvement with the local community)

He followed this by sharing his own story, illustrated by an amazing collection of photographs, scrapbooks and memorabilia from both his primary and secondary education.  How wonderful to take part in the school production of the musical, Grease!

Image: The programme for Grease. The text reads By arrangement with Samuel French Ltd, Colne Valley High School presents Grease, March 13th, 14th and 15th 2001. Book, music and lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. There is a black line drawing of a rear view of the heads of a couple in a car, with the letter G of Grease forming the swirling hairstyle of the young man.

Then the room filled with noise as we discussed our responses in small groups. There was such a lot to say, no matter when we’d left school.  It was fascinating to get back together at the end and hear more about one another’s experiences.  Some of us tell our stories in the blog post which follows.  We hope they’ll prompt memories of your own.

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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, 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, intergenerational, memories, music

An Intergenerational Music Exchange

Photographs of the event by Rachel Bywater

On Monday 19th July, under the bright sky of an extraordinarily warm day, a group of excited people gathered at the West Didsbury and Chorlton Football Club.  We weren’t there to watch a match, though in its own way, it was a game of two sides.  One side was a collection of young people from Chorlton High School and the other local people who ranged in age.  Instead of football, we played music.  The results of the match were fantastic for both teams.  Read on to find out more!

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