Sandy Lane School Stories

I had the pleasure of speaking with Monica, a longstanding resident of the area, at the Open Day at Sandy Lane. Monica has been very involved within the community through church, instrumental in establishing the 'Church at the Centre' and also through her various posts as a teacher in the area. Monica has a unique perspective of what was happening within schools in Skelmersdale during the rapid population growth when it gained its new town status. 

When we came, Hillside Primary School had just opened with a very able and experienced Head Teacher, two newly qualified young staff and myself. We would begin a week with perhaps ten pupils in our class, and the next week we had twenty because they would all be coming in, some from from Liverpool and Kirkby and some from Wigan. The next week we had thirty. When we had more than thirty they’d get another teacher in. As long as you could get on with the children, that’s all that mattered really, and my family and I began to make lots of friends. Back then, change was happening all the time. We lived in the first bit of Tanhouse to be built,and people were coming into Tanhouse all the time, and most of them were young families: 'Woolly Backs, and 'Scousers' who had to learn to get on with one another. Then of course there were plenty of jobs, but later that was no longer the case. I kept my job for a while and then passed on to something for which I was better qualified, but it’s been quite hard for some people.

Monica, local resident.

Busy Bodies Play Group - Sandy Bear's Sandy Lane Adventures

It has been brilliant running story sharing activities with the children, parents and carers at Busy Bodies Play group at Park Children's Centre.

It was important to have the involvement of this part of the community in the project as many of those attending live close by - representing the present and future of the Sandy Lane area. Over the course of the sessions, we met Sandy Bear and heard about his adventures around Sandy Lane. Sandy is a Bear who loves to be busy - he's always up to something, whether it is shopping, going to the park, having a teddy bear's picnic or taking snaps for his holiday album. Each adventure that Sandy Bear went on was interactive in our sessions, so children and parents and carers could continue the story and build upon it within their own context encouraging communication, imaginative play and literacy.

This is Sandy Bear...

On one of his adventures, he had gone shopping to Sandy Lane, but then he lost all the things he had bought! We helped him find all the lost shopping and put it into our own shopping bags to take home with us. Each item had an activity with it. Here, we felt the fruit in the bag and try to guess what Sandy Bear's favourite fruit was. 

We found a birthday cake Sandy Bear had bought for his friend's birthday...

...and sang happy birthday to him!

On another visit, Sandy Bear played in the park! We learned a little bit about the old park at Sandy Lane with the banana shaped Lake. 

We also made picnic plates for a Teddy Bear's Picnic

And we had a real Teddy Bear's Picnic outside in the sunshine

Huge thanks to all the children and parents and carers who participated. It was so lovely to meet you and have your input on the project. Thanks also to the brilliant team working at Busy Bodies, providing fantastic support and activities for local children. You made me and Sandy Bear feel so welcome!

The Foresight for Cherry Blossom

At the Open Day a few weeks ago it was lovely to meet Sandy Lane residents and gather some of
their stories. One of the people I met was Finda who has lived in the area for many years now. Finda told me some of her story about memories of the changes that happened in the 1970s, when huge parts of Skelmersdale were developed and many folks moved into the area. Her insight into this time and her story is a hugely valuable contribution to the project. Here is a small sample of what she had to say. Perhaps it is something that resonates with you. If so, do get in touch.

I remember the houses on Tanhouse being built and they were literally built in big sections – whole fronts of a block of flats, up to two storeys. I remember seeing the whole side of a block of flats on a crane being put into place. Things were just built like that – so fast. Where we lived was Elmridge. I think that was the second road to be built in Tanhouse after Egerton. So when we moved in it was all still being built. There was a tree in every garden – flowering cherry trees. The trees at first were tiny saplings. And now you look at all those trees when you go down Neverstitch Road, I often say to my mum they must have had such foresight then. People say a lot about 70s and a lot of the buildings that were built in the 70s aren’t really fit for purpose now, but there was foresight in planting all these trees and having all this greenery, because now they’re 45 years old and they’re beautiful. But I can remember everywhere there being these little stalks and now they’re big trees. 

Finda, Sandy Lane resident.

Beacon View Residential Home - Green and Glorious Stories

It is intriguing to look for themes, threads and patterns when working with diverse community groups in an area. Are there elements that seem to preoccupy the imaginations and creative streams of the people within a community? What are the images that participants seem to return to with regularity? There are several that have cropped up a lot through this project. A couple of very tangible things being the frequent mention of the vanilla slices from Tootles - (they sound utterly delicious) and the cinemas on Sandy Lane. I've included a story at the end of this post about the cinema that had us all in fits of giggles. 

However, many of the narratives that have come out of the workshops I have been running around the Sandy Lane area have had elements of gardening, nurturing plants and the importance of the agricultural aspect of the area. Here are a handful of stories shared at Beacon View Residential home that really touched me in this regard. This has been such a common thread across all the workshops that I feel it is important to incorporate it into the overarching narrative for the project that I am writing. The metaphor of a mature garden, that needs tending and nurturing over the generations, and that brings joy and sustenance to the local community feels pertinent. Plants that we delight in - plants that bring rewards from the local Dahlias grown for exhibition in Ivy's extract below, to plants that provide food and livelihood for local people like the peas in Marion's story and the potatoes and carrots in Elsie's story of being a land girl. 

We used to go on the pea wagon, to the farm picking peas. The wagon was open at the back and they took us out to the field and then took us back at night. 

One of us had to stay at home doing the cleaning and cooking, one had to go and help. We had these hampers and we had to pick these peas. And we’d come home and we’d just be all green because we’d be eating them all. 

Marion

From age 18 I was in the land army. I’d milk cows, sieve it, put it in bottles and take it in the horse and cart around the streets. First, I was in the Lake District on a farm, then I got to Burscough, and I was with the potatoes and carrots and cauliflowers. My friend, Rachel Knappett, wrote ‘A Pullet on the Midden’ about being in the Women's Land Army.

We had a man live near us who grew marrows. And when we were younger he’d let us write our names on them, little, and it grew and grew and grew until it had the big name on it. It was lovely! 

Elsie

We had an allotment where we used to grow flowers for the flower show. Dahlias, and you dared touch one of those dahlias, you were dead. We used to sell them for about half a crown each. We used to grow carrots, too. And I’d pull them up to see how big they were. To see if they were fit for eating. And if they weren’t I'd try and push them back in. My husband was a chairman of the Skem Allotment Society and he looked after the allotments for the council, collecting the rent and that. George grew blackberries all round ours. There’s a waiting list now for allotments. 

Ivy

...and finally, here is Marion's story recounting a date with her husband at Billy Shaw's Cinema.

Majestic was the posh cinema - for if you were courting. But this time we were at Billy Shaw's. We used to call it the flea pit. My husband and me, we were sat on the back row of the cinema, and he was like this, reaching down around his ankle. And I said ‘What are you doing down there?’ And he never answered. I asked again, ‘What are you doing?’ Anyway, then they used to have slacker pants than they do now. And he didn’t say anything to me about what he was doing. But a mouse had run up his pants and he'd had to strangle it in his pants. He just dropped it down his pants and he picked it up by its tail. Then he went to where you pay for your tickets and said, 'You can have that.'

You’d just be sat there and you’d hear all these rustles. You threw your crisp packet down and you'd hear them rustling.  

Marion

West Lancs Community High School - Creative Storytelling

I've been really inspired by the students at West Lancs Community High as we have found different ways to tell our stories creatively. It has also been fun!

As an important part of the Sandy Lane community, I was keen to ensure students were given space to tell their stories. We used story boards to explore the story of our day and what might happen if something unusual dropped into the normal routine of life.

The students considered how they wanted to tell their story using images on a board. Here, mermaids make regular appearances through the day.

Once the storyboards were arranged students told the story of their day. This one included aliens landing in the playground and dinosaurs hatching all before breakfast.

We also worked with play dough and puppets to explore other ways to tell our stories.

Students made figures and shapes to represent themselves.

The bright tactile material is delightful to work with and enables us to create in 3D 

We worked with puppets at the final workshop and created short stories about our feelings. Students picked up the puppeteering skills exceptionally quickly and created imaginative and engaging stories with their characters.

Feedback from the sessions included:

'I liked the puppets best. It was funny!'

'I liked making up the stories [from the object box]'

'The Playdough was good. Squashy and fun!'

It has been a privilege to work with such great storytellers. Thanks to the pupils for being so welcoming and working so hard during the workshops for the Sandy Lane Project and for your invaluable contributions. I will be using lots of ideas sparked by the WLCH students in the overarching narrative for the project.

West Lancs Community High School - Exploring The Story Box

I really enjoyed visiting pupils at West Lancs Community High for this project. The students and staff were so welcoming and shared creatively and imaginatively in the Sandy Lane project. It was a joy to work with them.

At the first workshop we explored my story box. Here it is...

...a curious assortment of objects for storytellers to rummage through and use for inspiration. We began by thinking about stories that might be attached to the objects. Sometimes it helps to ask questions - who could it being to? where might you find it? What happens next?

Then we thought specifically about Sandy Lane, in the present. We looked at the different shops and things to see there and then, in groups, told stories based around Sandy lane incorporating one or two of the objects from the story box. 

The stories the students created collaboratively were fresh, entertaining and imaginative. Here's a taster:

One day, at Sandy Lane Shopping Centre...

...a girl and a boy were looking around.

They saw an old man playing the recorder outside Sayer’s Bakery. He was wearing red clothing and he had a money bag with him. The money bag was for collecting money from people to give to charity.

The old man had a dog with him; it was a Basset Hound. The dog sat next to the money bag to guard it.

The girl and boy decided to have a dance when they heard the old man playing Spanish music on his recorder. As they danced, a crowd gathered and they joined in, too. All the shopkeepers came out of their shops clapping their hands and they donated lots of money to the charity.

One day, at Sandy Lane Shopping Centre...

...there was a bunny called Bob who was building a pet shop. You could buy a puppy, a pig or a rabbit.

The building soon was done. But all the animals escaped! He didn’t know where they were.

The animals were all hiding around Sandy Lane. The rabbits were hiding in the glasses shop. The puppies were hiding in the Post Office. The pigs were hiding in the cake shop.

Bob the bunny was very confused. He put up a reward and the other shopkeepers helped him to find them.

One day, at Sandy Lane Shopping Centre...

...I met a pirate. He had cross bones on his hat, a parrot on his shoulder and a patch on his eye.

I wanted to run away but he said, “Do you like my wooden leg?”

I said, “yes. Shall we have a race?”

I ran fast but the pirate won.

He said “Let’s go to the chippy – it’s my treat.”

So I had sausage and chips.

I have been facilitating workshops at Beacon View Residential Home in Skelmersdale for the Sandy Lane project. It has been a privilege to work with and hear stories from this important sector of the community. The ladies and gentlemen who took part all had fantastic contributions to make and we had a lot of fun together, too!

Often, one person's story or memories would spark off a memory for another participant. 

Our storytelling was inspired by photographs and artefacts such as this miner's lamp

Two members of Beacon View's staff also participated and shared stories about their memories of Sandy Lane. We ran out of chairs!

One participant, Margaret, (second from left) had previously written some of her memories down in poetry form. We read out her poems as inspiration for our storytelling during the workshops.

Here's just a taster of the many stories told during the workshops.

I attended the Skelmersdale Carnival many times. We had them in Ormskirk and Burscough just the same. There’d be younger ones dressed up on what we used to call the floats, on the wagons with horses and the carts and the others walked behind with the banners.

Elsie

In the 1960’s I was in the girl guides. The queen was coming through to Skem on the royal train. We were camping in Robinson’s field, which was next to where the train went through from Westhead. We were up at 4 o’clock in the morning, dressed in our uniforms, badges polished. The train was coming through at 5 o’clock.  We were waiting there on the railway line... But all the blessed curtains were drawn - they were asleep, weren’t they! And we’d been up since 2 o’clock, waiting for the queen’s train. And the only thing that was open was the back carriages - just glass windows and men in their velvet coats with their glasses of sherry and that. And that’s all we saw. Five hours in freezing cold, waiting for the flaming royal train. Biggest wash out I’ve ever been to in my life! We never saw a damn thing apart from men in the back with their sherries and their cigars.

Ivy

I was born at 20 Peel Street. I remember running down from Peel Street, right round and running into the park. We’d play football and go on the swings. And play bowls. There was Emma’s shop down Barnes road. Where you could buy anything.

          Then there was Watkinson’s paper shop on Chapel Street. I went there for papers every morning. I’d get The People and The Sunday. I had to go to Sunday school, you all did. One of the teachers wasn’t nice. But there was a party every year. A teaparty, they’d call it. Jelly and custard.

John

I was born in Market Street and I worked at the shoe factory, from about 14 years old. My job at Shoe Co? You’d got these racks of shoes, all different ones. You’d be on cleaning, heeling, packing, attaching pompoms to slippers, or in the warehouse.

Margaret

I was born on Smith Street, off Sandy lane. That was in 1962, so the railway had been closed down then, because I remember as children we used to roll down the embankments. They’d taken the tracks up and we’d play down the embankments. It was lovely. No trains. It was paradise.

I was born at home on walking day. And my mum said that as I popped my head out the brass band started up. I came out to a band fanfare!

Janet 

My earliest memory was waiting at the bottom of Sandy Lane for Fletcher’s Coaches. Everybody used to go on these outings. I was born in ’73 and it’d be about ‘76 because it was so hot - that summer was boiling. You’d pay about 50p each and you’d go on these trips. And half of Skem would go – there’d be one after the other leaving for the safari park, Chester zoo, Blackpool, New Brighton... everybody used to go on them. You’d have to wait at half seven at the bottom of the lane, with your butties and your flask. And you’d come off and you’d be shattered and you’d have a proper sun tan because the weather... it was lovely! You couldn’t wait for the new itinerary to come out.

Nicky