Still the clips provided the starting point for some very interesting responses, discussions and memories. One gentleman from Wigan talked to Andrew and I about dialect and how accents are tending to become homogonised. Andrew mentioned that at one time even which side of the Ribble you were made a distinct difference in accent. It is of course the nature of language that it changes, perhaps now more quickly than ever, yet I think the archives have a valuable role in preserving spoken heritage.
One woman reminisced about working in a mill, and showed me no fewer than 2 scars on her face from seperate injuries. Her husband couldn't help chipping in, 'That one got me us a greenhouse' ....
Once again it is good to make people aware of the archives as a resource, and the value of history and memory in general.
Sunday saw me linking up with people from the community organisation Transition Town Clitheroe. They are a very interesting and active group looking for ways to make the future of Clitheroe sustainable. The occasion was joining Steph Bradley on her 6 month walk across the UK on a mission to collect stories from community groups on the subject of transition. We met up with her in Waddington and walked down to Clitheroe via back roads and past allotments. It proved to be a beautiful evening, if a bit windy, as we approached the town with the castle coming in to view.
As one of the primary focusses of Steph and the group's interests is local food, we had an interesting discussion about how the archives could be a useful resource in 'reskilling' people in a move back to more local food production. I recorded some of the walk and a talk with Steph to put back in the archive, so the links continue from the past, to the present with what I am doing now and in to the future.
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