The groups we have connected with up to December 2008 are; The Cottage Project (Town Centre), The Thursday Group (Town Centre), Thorntons Field Dog Walkers (Town Centre). Although these groups are classed as Town Centre groups - the members/participans are residents from the 2 target estates.
Sure Start group - this is based on the Parks Estate (target area) and was unheard of until the beginning of November, they have become on of the core groups to work with. This is expanding to the two public houses on the Parks Estate which will include the elderly male population in a better way, the meeting groups are predominantly female.
In the New Year we will be strengthening these links, running outings and visits as well as continuing with the research and discussion projects as these sessions get the generations talking and understanding eachother. We will also be working to make links more directly with groups on the Whitemoor Estate (target area) from Spring.
Friday 26 December 2008
Intergenerational Conference - London
25th November 2008
I was invited through Derbyshire County Council to attend a National Conference in London around 'Cross Generational Working'. Derbyshire County Council booked and paid for my ticket and my transport. After an early start I arrived at the conference venue to find people representing every county in the country. Presentations were made by Derbyshire, Manchester and Yorkshire about Cross Generation work which is going on in their Counties. I was so impressed and motivated, I didn't realise how much excellent work is going on around the Country, I certainly don't feel so isolated with the projects I intend to run, over the breaks during the day I made some really good contacts ad picked up usefull information.
I was invited through Derbyshire County Council to attend a National Conference in London around 'Cross Generational Working'. Derbyshire County Council booked and paid for my ticket and my transport. After an early start I arrived at the conference venue to find people representing every county in the country. Presentations were made by Derbyshire, Manchester and Yorkshire about Cross Generation work which is going on in their Counties. I was so impressed and motivated, I didn't realise how much excellent work is going on around the Country, I certainly don't feel so isolated with the projects I intend to run, over the breaks during the day I made some really good contacts ad picked up usefull information.
Houses
A session around houses/homes brought up the following discussion points;
Bedrooms and beds; children shared beds 3 0r 4 in a double bed sleeping head to toe.
Toilet facilities were outside often at the bottom of the garded or across the yard, not flushing toilets but a hole in the ground with a board over to sit on in some cases. Toilet paper was sheets of torn up newspaper hanging on a nail in the toilet door. at night often a 'potty' was kept under the bed and emptied in the morning. This thought horrified the young people in the group.
There were no bathrooms, a bath was a tin bath put in front of the fire and filled with hot water which had to be boiled on the stove or on the fire, there was no running hot water. One bath full of water would do the whole family! Again the young people were horrified - they just couldnt imagine life without showers or hot water straight fom the tap.
Coal fires were the means of heating and also often cooking. Kitchen sinks were white ceramic large and deep.
There were no automatic washing machines, washing was done by hand in a big tub then wrung out using a mangle (explained by an elderly gentleman as two rollers and a handle, he told a story about getting his fingers squashed in the mangle).
There were no fridges, food was bought fresh and not saved very often. Vinegar and salt were used as preservatives. Houses had a 'larder' to store any food (a small room adjoining the kitchen) usually with a marble slab to keep foods cool.
Bedrooms and beds; children shared beds 3 0r 4 in a double bed sleeping head to toe.
Toilet facilities were outside often at the bottom of the garded or across the yard, not flushing toilets but a hole in the ground with a board over to sit on in some cases. Toilet paper was sheets of torn up newspaper hanging on a nail in the toilet door. at night often a 'potty' was kept under the bed and emptied in the morning. This thought horrified the young people in the group.
There were no bathrooms, a bath was a tin bath put in front of the fire and filled with hot water which had to be boiled on the stove or on the fire, there was no running hot water. One bath full of water would do the whole family! Again the young people were horrified - they just couldnt imagine life without showers or hot water straight fom the tap.
Coal fires were the means of heating and also often cooking. Kitchen sinks were white ceramic large and deep.
There were no automatic washing machines, washing was done by hand in a big tub then wrung out using a mangle (explained by an elderly gentleman as two rollers and a handle, he told a story about getting his fingers squashed in the mangle).
There were no fridges, food was bought fresh and not saved very often. Vinegar and salt were used as preservatives. Houses had a 'larder' to store any food (a small room adjoining the kitchen) usually with a marble slab to keep foods cool.
Food and shops
This section was a spin off from the Clued Up project - it took up a full session on its own.
The questions were; What did you eat, where did you shop, did you have sweets?
There were no supermarkets - corner shops and grocers stores along with the market were the main shopping places. People made their own bread, cooked fresh vegetables - whatever was in season either allotment or local farm grown. During the war there was rationing, when asked what happened if you ran out of something, the answer was simple - you either went without or swapped / borrowed from a neighbour. One young person asked if it made a difference if you were rich, he was told that no difference was there, everyone got the same amount of vouchers, wealthier people could sometimes get extras from the Black Market (which was explained to the group) Sweets were a special treat, bought loose from the grocers shop, they were purchased by the 'farthing' or 'hapenny' and served in a paper bag. * the young people have asked if we can make a money transletor - old pennies to new pence and any memories of prices from older times to compare with todays prices.
There were no take away food places or fast food places (chip shops were around though) the young people could not comprehend life without MacDonalds or Pizzas, - this again will be explored further in the future.
The questions were; What did you eat, where did you shop, did you have sweets?
There were no supermarkets - corner shops and grocers stores along with the market were the main shopping places. People made their own bread, cooked fresh vegetables - whatever was in season either allotment or local farm grown. During the war there was rationing, when asked what happened if you ran out of something, the answer was simple - you either went without or swapped / borrowed from a neighbour. One young person asked if it made a difference if you were rich, he was told that no difference was there, everyone got the same amount of vouchers, wealthier people could sometimes get extras from the Black Market (which was explained to the group) Sweets were a special treat, bought loose from the grocers shop, they were purchased by the 'farthing' or 'hapenny' and served in a paper bag. * the young people have asked if we can make a money transletor - old pennies to new pence and any memories of prices from older times to compare with todays prices.
There were no take away food places or fast food places (chip shops were around though) the young people could not comprehend life without MacDonalds or Pizzas, - this again will be explored further in the future.
Monday 10 November 2008
Clued up
do you grow up to fast now or did you then?
People went to work at the age of 14, however they believed in old tales and didn't have the media influencing them to adopt a grown up attitude. In effect they were more naive. The youth generation of now have all the media distractions, so it's harder to focus on some of the simple social encounters.
Through some research with questionnaires we hope to find which generation was made to grow up the fastest, and in what way.
FINDINGS TO 31ST DECEMBER 2008.
The initial thought was to get the generation groups together for a session to discuss the questions and findings. A group of 6 young people from the Drop Inn designed a questionaire and took it to a group of elderly people who we were working with. The session was so successful that it expanded into 4 sessions due to mutual enthusiasm.
Working Life: Women did not generally work as they stayed at home to raise the children, there were no automatic washing machines, hoovers, microwaves and other time saving devices so it really was a full time job. A meal prepared from fresh ingredients was ready for when the man of the house got home from work. During the war years the men were away fighting in the war so the women went out to work doing the mens jobs, after the war they returned into the house and the men returned to the jobs outside the home. Lots of stories were told by the elderly people about their experiences during the war years, one ledy was a 'clippie' (bus conductor) and during the blackout had to guide the bus on foot through the narrow unlit roads by walking in front of the bus. The young people showed genuine interest in the stories and found it hard to imagine life without modern electrical devices and flushing toilets (this was a story on its own!!)
Both generations agreed that young people had to grow up and take responsibilities at a far younger age than todays youth regarding home, family and work, but that todays young people grow up faster regarding social acticities. The did agree that communities and families were closer in bygone years which made areas feel safer. They did discuss the pressure of the media and 100% agreed that the influence and pressure to conform is far greater now than in the past.
This is only the beginning and a small part of the research and project on 'Clued Up', it will continue as a theme through other groups and topics.
People went to work at the age of 14, however they believed in old tales and didn't have the media influencing them to adopt a grown up attitude. In effect they were more naive. The youth generation of now have all the media distractions, so it's harder to focus on some of the simple social encounters.
Through some research with questionnaires we hope to find which generation was made to grow up the fastest, and in what way.
FINDINGS TO 31ST DECEMBER 2008.
The initial thought was to get the generation groups together for a session to discuss the questions and findings. A group of 6 young people from the Drop Inn designed a questionaire and took it to a group of elderly people who we were working with. The session was so successful that it expanded into 4 sessions due to mutual enthusiasm.
Working Life: Women did not generally work as they stayed at home to raise the children, there were no automatic washing machines, hoovers, microwaves and other time saving devices so it really was a full time job. A meal prepared from fresh ingredients was ready for when the man of the house got home from work. During the war years the men were away fighting in the war so the women went out to work doing the mens jobs, after the war they returned into the house and the men returned to the jobs outside the home. Lots of stories were told by the elderly people about their experiences during the war years, one ledy was a 'clippie' (bus conductor) and during the blackout had to guide the bus on foot through the narrow unlit roads by walking in front of the bus. The young people showed genuine interest in the stories and found it hard to imagine life without modern electrical devices and flushing toilets (this was a story on its own!!)
Both generations agreed that young people had to grow up and take responsibilities at a far younger age than todays youth regarding home, family and work, but that todays young people grow up faster regarding social acticities. The did agree that communities and families were closer in bygone years which made areas feel safer. They did discuss the pressure of the media and 100% agreed that the influence and pressure to conform is far greater now than in the past.
This is only the beginning and a small part of the research and project on 'Clued Up', it will continue as a theme through other groups and topics.
Sunday 9 November 2008
The Linking Lives Translator
The idea is to make a translation book. This book will translate English to old Derbyshire or languages the Older generations use, and also translate English to youth slang. For example "safe" is "how are you," or "alreet me duck"
Monday 20 October 2008
Macmillan Coffee Morning
Sitting having a chat together
Standing together
Tea and cakes
Standing together the Youth with our older guests
Making tea for our Older guests
Standing together
Tea and cakes
Standing together the Youth with our older guests
Making tea for our Older guests
Sunday 19 October 2008
Wednesday 20 August 2008
Linking Lives Opening
Linking Old and Young lives ... The Drop Inn Centre for Young People is running a 3 year project funded by the Methodist Circuit to help break down barriers of communication between older people and young people and dispel myths usually created by the media.
After a three month consultation period we are now planning some one off taster and meeting sessions between the two generations.
The main view from both generations is that they can learn a great deal from each other about lifestyles, working and leisure time, and that bad press coverage gives all young people a bad name causing concern. Some of the ideas from the consultation include story swapping sessions, computer and mobile phone awareness, games, skills swaps.
We would very much like to plan an activity with your group and are open to all suggestions and ideas, it would involve a small group of young people visiting your group and an invitation for yourselves to visit the Drop Inn Centre for a return activity.
This is a great opportunity to build bridges within the community and I hope you will join us in creating an environment of mutual respect and awareness of each others issues and needs. If you would like any further information please do not hesitate to contact me.
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