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

Sandy Lane Artists - One Red Shoe

One Red Shoe are the visual artists who are working on the Sandy Lane Creative Project. They have been doing fantastic workshops around the area and creating the most beautiful artwork. From surreal pictures to gorgeous 'shrinkies' they are inspiring and encouraging the whole community to get involved and develop their artistic skills.

For more about what they've been up to see their Sandy Lane artists blog.

They are also running free open visual art workshops in the Sandy Lane area. Not to be missed! To find out more and sign up contact The Chapel Gallery by phone: 01695 571 382 or email: chapel.gallery@westlancs.gov.uk

Story Detectives at St Richard's Primary School

At the creative writing workshops I've been running at St Richard's Primary School, we have been focussing on the past, present and future of Sandy Lane.

In our first workshop we thought about how Sandy Lane looked in the past. We read and discussed the stories told by project participants at Divine Days Community Arts Group who have been sharing their stories about growing up in old Sandy Lane during the war, back when Sandy Lane had two cinemas, a railway and carnivals. The children found their stories inspiring and it triggered discussion about all sorts of aspects of life in the past.

We also used photographs to inspire us. We talked about how 'every picture tells a story'... and we wondered what stories might be hidden in these photographs...

We studied this photograph and became Story Detectives, looking closely for clues and tiny details that might inspire our story telling. The photograph above is of the Banana Lake in Coronation Park. We asked questions about the picture - what is happening? What has just happened or is about to happen? What time of day is it? Who is the man standing in or kneeling beside the lake on the left? What might he be called? What is he doing there? How is he feeling? We then began to build a story together as a class. Once we had a basic framework, the pupils each wrote the story up in their own unique way. 

We did the same with this photograph looking up old Sandy Lane, studied it closely for clues as to a story. The children noticed the boy striding away up the street. They also noticed a smashed window in the shop to the left of the picture. Together, we built a story framework about who the boy is, what has happened and what might happen next. The children then wrote the story, choosing how they wanted to tell it. The stories were so varied; each one original and well written. Well done to all the story detectives at St. Richard's - you are brilliant!

Many thanks to Chris who is looking after the Skelmersdale Heritage photograph archive and providing these and many other inspirational images for the project.

Sandy Lane: A Poem in the Present by pupils at St. Richard's Primary School

In one of the creative writing workshops at St Richards, we looked at Sandy Lane in the present day.

We talked about how writers have a special 'writer's eye' - being a writer is about looking out for the small details that other people might not see or pick up on.

Year 4 and 5 pupils went on a field trip to Sandy Lane to try out their writer's eyes. We were looking for ways to capture the things we noticed using descriptive words and metaphors to create a collaborative poem. The final poem we composed together is rich with similes, too.

Many thanks to our brilliant support teachers who accompanied us, Mr Beck and Mrs Lewis and kudos to Mrs Lewis who also turned out to be an ace creative poet - describing the tiles running along the walls as 'like white chocolate pieces' (they really are!) and the trolleys outside Co-op 'like a crocodile'. The children agreed so both of these ideas made it into our class poem.

The young people at St Richard's were a pleasure to work with; a really creative and inspiring group.

St Richard's pupils using their writers eyes to spot the things that other people might not have noticed.

Here is their poem. Perhaps see if you can find all the things that the pupils have written about next time you are at Sandy Lane Shopping Centre.

A Walk Through Sandy Lane Shopping Centre

The sign on the stramp is Calpol pink with lemon yellow.

The multicoloured stramp is so fun when you slide down it on a sled - it is like a rollercoaster.

The bricks are solid, smooth, straight, chestnut brown, parallel - chocolate coloured.

Outside the fruit and veg shop the round, yellow, juicy melon makes a transformation into a planet every time the sun reaches it (and if you eat the melon, every time the sun reaches you, you explode or turn into a planet.)

The strawberries and berries are sunset pink. Altogether, they remind me of the juiciest fruit salad ever.

The green plants growing on top of the balcony are eyelashes fluttering in the breeze; lime green eyelashes hanging on the edge.

The flower shop is a colourful picture of pink, purple, blue and yellow.

There is a mystery door – secrets unknown – Sandy lane was a castle in the olden days and that is where they locked them up (and chopped off their heads!)

Dark green leaves up high are forgotten Christmas decorations.

The glass ceiling overhead is a shiny, clear roman mosaic.

The Co-op!

The Co-op is lime green with food on the windows that makes me feel hungry;

Meatballs that reminded me of the football tournament yesterday.

The coal outside is imprisoned, locked up in bars that look like they’re in jail.

The sour sweet red wine is pouring out of the bottle on the window,

And shopping trolleys are lined up like a crocodile.

A dog bowl outside is a sour peach and is crying for dogs to drink from it.

Up high, the tiles look like white chocolate, waiting for someone to eat!

Stage lights – Sandy lane is a theatre.

There’s a blue rusty sign with an address on every shop.

The cake shop is a heavenly place for sugar.

The post Office is as red as the sun and a bit of a multicoloured rainbow.

The iron railings are painted green to black – they remind me of an adventure.

A poem composed by children from Year 4 and 5 at St Richard’s Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale.

A Letter to Future Me - Storytelling at St Richard's Primary School

Over the last couple of weeks I've visited St Richard's Catholic Primary School to lead creative writing workshops with children from Year 4 and 5.

The children at St Richard's are brilliant storytellers. They have wonderful imaginations and fantastic ideas.

In one workshop, we were thinking about the future of Sandy Lane. We asked questions:

• What will the future look like? What sports will we play? what food will we eat?
• What will Sandy Lane look like in the future? What will be the same, what might be different?
• What about St Richard's school?
• What will we be doing 10 years in the future? 

The children wrote letters to 'Future Me' - themselves ten years into the future. In their letters they told their future selves about how things are now, what is important to them at the moment and what they enjoy currently. They wrote about how they imagine Sandy Lane might look in the future and their hopes and aspirations for where they might be in ten years time. They offered themselves words of affirmation and advice. The letters are sparky, thought provoking, often funny and moving.

Here are a few examples:

Dear Future Me,

First of all, how are we? What’s going on in life – how is my family? Do I have a decent job?

Right now, I live in Sandy Lane, I go to St Richard’s School, I am 9 years old.

I love doing dance - I would love to be a dance teacher.

What does Sandy Lane look like in the future? Has it got a hoverboard park, or a chocolate factory or floating cars and messaging chips in everyone’s heads? Alright, I’m going crazy now!

Just remember, always stay true to yourself,

Yours Sincerely,

You (Isabella)

Dear Future Me,

My family and friends help me in every day life, I don’t know what I would do without them. At the moment I have a special teddy called Buster. Do I still have Buster and is he still so, so, so special?

I live in a house and love living there because it feels good that it’s my home. I go to a school called St Richard’s – it’s great because every day I come home and I tell Mum tons of things I have learnt.

In the future I’m going to be a scientist so I can make Sandy Lane the best place ever and when people come they will feel as if they have just been to Disney World, Florida! On Sandy Lane I will create a chocolate factory with a cinema next door. Loads of kids will save their pocket money so they can go!

My school will still be here but there will be a hoverboard park where everyone will play after school!

Yours Sincerely,

Ella.

Dear Future Self,

Thomas – I hope you’re having a good time with your jet pack and your low gravity shoes... but I wanted to talk to you about the future. Is it good there? Do you have a good job?

I go to St Richard’s and my favourite food is fish but I hate cheese. In the future, I bet there will be some sort of Xbox 16 but I like Xbox 1.

I hope you like it there, in the future, and remember do my life good – skydive from over the clouds!

It’s time to go,

Yours Sincerely,

Thomas (2016)

Dear Myself,

How is your life? How is your family? What’s in the future? In your days what’s your home like? Which college do you go to?

What about Sandy Lane - what is it like? Is it the same? What is it like being 20 years old? Is Sandy Lane still a friendly place? Are there mutant dinosaurs?

From Dylan

PS – Are you famous? Are you a football player?

It was brilliant working with such a creative group of young writers.

Family Fun Day at Sandy Lane

The Fun Day at Sandy Lane was a brilliant and creative day! It was a joy meeting the people who came along and got creative with words. The weather might have been a classically British mix of sunshine and hail but that didn't stop us!

Getting to grips with some old-school technology on an old typewriter. Lots of fun!

Fun with words - magnetic poetry and a chance for people to add their own lines

In the foreground, storytelling with pictures and speech bubbles

Some archive photographs of Old Skelmersdale and a small exhibit of inspirational writing and storytelling from recent community workshops.

Divine Days Creative Arts at Greenhill Community Hub

I've been leading storytelling workshops with members of Divine Days Community Arts group at Greenhill Hub.

The group meet every Thursday afternoon to share creatively in a range of arts and crafts; everything from textiles, ceramics, to beauty treatments and dollhouse refurbishment. There are two things I found particularly inspiring with this group. Firstly, the willingness to try new creative activities and how they not only engage with the artists that come along to run workshops, but also bring their own creative skills and abilities to share - supporting each other in knitting, pottery painting... all sorts of fantastic creative forms. The second thing was the caring pastoral nature of the group.

It was an absolute pleasure leading the creative storytelling workshops with this group. We used old photographs of Sandy Lane and locally significant artefacts, such as a miner's lamp, woven shawl and model train as a nod to the old Jazzer railway that ran through Skelmersdale, to inspire our storytelling. Over the course of the workshops participants told stories, shared memories and memoir pieces and reflected on Sandy Lane in the present and future.

It was lovely to share some of these stories with the children at St. Richard's Primary School, when I ran workshops there. And, in return, share some of the stories they wrote in their workshop with the Divine Days group.

Storytellers look through archive photograph of Sandy Lane to spark inspiration

Using artefacts as an aid to creativity. On the table; a miner's lamp and child's suitcase. An old embroidered garment is held up by a participant.

Looking through the button box seeking character inspiration.

Here are a few story extracts from participants.

On Sandy lane, you’d every shop that you could need and if they didn’t have what you wanted that day, the day after they’d get it for you. In Sandy Lane there was a hairdressers and four chip shops. There were three public houses. Back then there were two cinemas – one was called Billy Shaw’s because Billy Shaw owned it and the other was called the Majestic. The Majestic was posher. If you were courting or if you had a partner you’d go to the Majestic. It was newer.

Mavis

When I was going to school in the wartime, we used to have so many hours pea picking or potato picking to help the farmers. We had a card marked with so many hours and we used to love it.

For an instance, this day the peas were all in a row and we’d pull the peas off and put them in a hamper and you’d get so much for a hamper. It was raining this day and I had a mac on and I just felt this lump and reached down and there was a mouse at the top of my leg! I jumped up and – I can see it today – it was running around in a ring and it didn’t know what to do with itself. The whole field of pickers was looking at me wondering what was up with me, because I was screaming. It was a little field mouse. It had been asleep somewhere warm! You remember all these little things, don’t you?

Daisy

We had an ice cream man come up the street on a bicycle. It was a three-wheel bike – and the ice cream trailer and he would stop, and he had a hand bell and he’d just ring the bell at different places down the street. My memory of it was of looking up and this magic cone shape would come out and a spoon, and you’d get a wafer (and it could have been filthy,) but it just seemed to come out of that box like magic on the end of the cornet. There was just one sort back then, just plain vanilla. I do remember my mum would give us a bowl for the rest of the family. I think it was probably tuppence for the ice cream. My mum would give me the money to get three cornets for myself and my two sisters and I’d give the man the bowl and he would put scoops in and I’d take it back to my mum. And the boys would all be sitting at the table ready for their ice cream.

 Irene

A brass band brings me to tears. Still to this day. It wouldn’t matter if I was alone or with someone – it wouldn’t matter what they were playing. But if it was hymns, I’d like that. I lived down the road from the practice room, and I used to have the windows open when the brass band were practicing. We always had brass band Sunday at the church at St Paul’s. It’s marvellous. Very moving. Very emotional.

Evelyn

The storytellers at Divine Days were inspirational and a joy to work with. Many thanks to all who took part.

For more information on Divine Days and to see their full programme of community arts activities take a look at their website.

Free Creative Writing Workshops

Do you enjoy creative writing, making up stories and playing with words?

Everyone has a story to tell and their own unique perspective. Come to our creative writing workshops and find ways to explore and develop your story creating skills. Through enjoyable activities and sharing ideas we will develop our own stories in a fun, relaxed and informal way. 

We will be creating fiction that celebrates and explores The Sandy Lane area – reflecting back to the Sandy Lane community and heritage of the past, capturing how local folk use it in the present and also looking to the future of this important community hub.

All are welcome! Particularly if you know Skelmersdale and the surrounding area. We’d love to hear your stories and help you find ways to capture them on the page for a wider audience to enjoy. Each workshop will include writing activities, shared discussion and examples of great writing to help us access, develop and enjoy our creativity. The workshops are open to all 16+, whether you’re a seasoned writer or you have never done anything like this before! Everyone is a storyteller. 

The dates and times for workshops are:

Tuesday 3rd May 6.30 - 8.30pm 

Thursday 5th May 6.30 - 8.30pm

Monday 9th May 6.30 - 8.30pm

Wednesday 11th May 6.30 - 8.30pm

Monday 16th May 6.30 - 8.30pm

Wednesday 18th May 6.30 - 8.30pm

Monday 23rd May 6.30 - 8.30pm

Wednesday 25th May 6.30 - 8.30pm

These workshops are all free to attend. They will take place at Sandy Lane Shopping Centre, in the cafe on the ground floor. Do get in touch if you have any questions. I'm looking forward to meeting you.