Memory Sessions Kick Off In Lancaster

Share your memories of food, football and funerals at free session taking place at Lancaster Library on February 28 and March 7.

The sessions, entitled Reflections – A Story To Tell, will be led by Steve Fairclough from 10am-12pm and 1-3pm.

Having delivered numerous arts and heritage projects over the past 20 years, Steve has a reassuring, personable approach and enjoys a multi-art form approach using creative writing, photography and social media to document and share findings.

“You have to be interested in the historical themes you explore otherwise you can’t enthuse about it within your creative work,” he said.

Steve is one of several artists brought together Mirador, to take part in Walking In Others Footsteps – a celebration of the Elizabeth Roberts Working Class Oral History Archive which includes memories of Lancaster folk born before World War One.

Elizabeth Roberts, who lives in Lancaster, recorded the memories during the 1970s and 1980s and they became a unique record of working class life in Lancaster, Barrow and Preston from 1890 to 1970. They are currently being digitised by the Regional Heritage Centre at Lancaster University.

Steve is keen to hear the stories and memories from today’s Lancaster residents and find out whether attitudes and events of the past can be life training for today.

The archive covered many subjects but Steve has taken food, football and funerals as the themes for his sessions and hopes to photograph and document the stories he collects to create a history file so even if you have an interesting or unusual object that relates to your memories, bring that along too.

For more information about the Elizabeth Roberts Working Class Oral History Archive and the digitisation project, see http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/users/rhc/news/details/2018/index_new.htm’