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.