Recently I’ve been doing some freelance reminiscence work with an old lady.
When I started I thought 'bonus! I love all the things she loves; relentless cups of Yorkshire Tea, dark chocolate Digestives, cat hair embodying my every inch and reclining chairs. I'll have a great time!'
And I do love it! I sit with this lovely little old lady and I listen to her reminisce about her childhood, her life during the war and often her sexual endeavours “I once dated a polish man. He nearly bit me nips off” (genuine quote). Her stories are gritty, unfeigned and frank about her life during the war, something we all learnt about in school.
And I do love it! I sit with this lovely little old lady and I listen to her reminisce about her childhood, her life during the war and often her sexual endeavours “I once dated a polish man. He nearly bit me nips off” (genuine quote). Her stories are gritty, unfeigned and frank about her life during the war, something we all learnt about in school.
I really enjoy hearing her reminisce about old times past because it's a totally different time to now. She reinforces how important it was to stick together through the war because your friends and family were all you had. Nowadays it's more "OMG she's unfollowed me on instagram?" rather than 'pack up your troubles in an old kit bag'. I just love the sense of community I imagine when she talks to me.
As the elder generation who witnessed the second world war first hand are getting older I think the time is now to gather as much real life oral history as possible. What is history without it’s memoirs after all?
 |
| The happiest bunch of oldies you'll ever see? |
No comments:
Post a Comment