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28 October 2022

Posted by Emma Scattergood

Stories From Our Streets Launch!

The Stories From Our Streets project launched in style on October 1st by taking a Memory Machine into central Bournemouth!


Thanks to Nuala Clarke, the Cultural Engagement Officer from BCP Council, Bobby’s in Bournemouth very kindly agreed to lend us the ‘Machine’ and we decided to set it up at South Coast Makers Market, during the Arts on the Sea festival. Nuala then did the most incredible job of helping us to transform it from a recording booth into a colourful mini writing room, complete with vintage chair and desk to work at, and cheerful wall-mounted boxes in which the public could post their stories after writing them. 


We also created a little sitting and writing area outside the 'hut', which was fortunate as at times we had quite a queue of people waiting to write a memory for us! Luckily I was also joined by five enthusiastic helpers from the MA Creative Writing & Publishing at Bournemouth University who have volunteered to support the project so they helped me greet the curious visitors, explain what the project is about, and then tempt them aboard the Machine.


It was the most wonderful afternoon/evening, and it was really encouraging to witness Stories From Our Streets receive such a warm reception. One woman declared that she had got 'goose bumps' when she heard about our project’s aims, and I so enjoyed watching people emerge from the Machine with a big smile on their face after penning and posting their memory.


Most people opted to share a positive moment or a description of a place, person or thing that made them happy. And many pegged a finished page of words to a ribbon extending around the hut, creating a joyful, ‘wordy’ bunting.


Due to the size of the hut, each visitor worked alone rather than being steered in any way by the team of writers on hand, so it will be interesting to see how the nature of the stories changes or develops when we have the opportunity to sit down with people and help them gather their thoughts and words. Since the launch, I have been working with Christchurch library to identify the groups that regularly use the library and see if any of those might be interested in engaging with us. I will feed back on that in the next blog update!

 

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