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