tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post1371280127047846321..comments2024-03-26T23:41:10.319+00:00Comments on Authors Electric: NOT Forgotten Lives: Felixstowe 2017 by Julia JonesKatherine Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17196712319655603442noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-1618741258677147042017-06-09T22:39:16.416+01:002017-06-09T22:39:16.416+01:00Thanks Dennis. Swan House sounds a good place. I ...Thanks Dennis. Swan House sounds a good place. I wonder whether we coudl persuade them to join JC. Am fascinated by your Sweet Sixteen competition (I remember that episode in Ellen's People - very good) Spent six year through 80s running Age Concern essay competitions - best bit of education I ever did<br />julia joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09773900100240758504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-18486547321770068542017-06-09T18:24:56.065+01:002017-06-09T18:24:56.065+01:00What a wonderful project, Julia. You are right abo...What a wonderful project, Julia. You are right about the old being such a repository of wisdom and experience which shouldn't be lost. I shall never forget the competition I organised in Hertfordshire back in the 80s for the WRVS and the recipients of Meals on Wheels. I set the subject 'Sweet Sixteen', sure that this would bring some World War 1 experiences. The accounts I received were moving, wise, amazingly vivid and also wonderful historical documents in their own right. I remember one lady who, when sixteen, was a kitchen maid in a great house. The mistress of the house had organised a ball for the officers at the local army camp. After it was over and the servants had recovered from their 24-hour day doing their usual duties and then working all night at the ball, they asked if they could have a dance at the house for the ordinary soldiers. The mistress haughtily refused and so they went on strike. And won! What an extraordinary, iconic significant event! I had to use it in Ellen's People, my WW1 novel.<br /><br />Swan House, Winslow, where my brother's wife is now living, also encourages autobiographical writing. I wonder if a project something like yours could use that as a start. I must ask my brother. No, I can't come to Lowestoft on July 1st. But I'd love a copy of NOT Forgotten Lives.Dennis Hamleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15781139870037634374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-88276808774726151922017-06-09T10:29:40.293+01:002017-06-09T10:29:40.293+01:00Bravo for this initiative, Julia. For all the appa...Bravo for this initiative, Julia. For all the apparent simplicity of Chrissie Harris's recollections of her childhood, they convey - as you say - the daily realities of her time which probably sound medieval to anyone under 20. I'm old enough to remember dray horses, carless streets, rope swings around lamp-posts, gaslights and the rest, and yet I still regret not asking more questions of grandparents, aunts and uncles. They were the repositories of daily truths which never make it to Wikipedia and which, while still in the minds of those who lived them, are the true pulse of history. The book deserves to be a big success.Bill Kirtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16345949773423764808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-25245514096023616222017-06-09T10:13:59.679+01:002017-06-09T10:13:59.679+01:00Yes indeed - our care workers and our nurses are t...Yes indeed - our care workers and our nurses are too often at the receiving end of the turbulent emotions felt by people living with dementia. Whilst nurses generally have public respect I'm not sure we give sufficient praise and appreciation to the low paid care worker. Though we're quick enough to be horrified (rightly) if any strike back. I was in a care home last week which is involving a psychologist to give STAFF support through a period of change & I thought that excellent. Meanwhile plenty of public thanks -- and decent wages and working conditions -- is the least we can do.<br />julia joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09773900100240758504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-65960696927399940172017-06-09T09:54:12.039+01:002017-06-09T09:54:12.039+01:00This is such an important project, huge congratula...This is such an important project, huge congratulations to you for setting it up and achieving it. To get 6 care homes taking part is not bad at all, when you think of all the demands on time and energy of care workers and relatives. But so important, both historically for these unique treasure houses of information, and to the elderly themselves; as you say, the more is known about their lives, the more they can be seen as individual people, not just 'clients', and the better the care. Mind you, I did feel for the care worker yelled at by the lady of 104 - it is rotten to be at the receiving end of people's tempers, even when you know it's all down to dementia.<br /><br />I can't come to the Felixstowe book festival but I hope your book has a terrific celebration, attracting lots of attention. It deserves it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com