What's in a name?

Workhouse records

Its all been about names this week.
Conversations in SW Burnley lead me to the archives in Preston, tracking the names of grandmothers and grandfathers.

Hapton Valley memorial

I walked through the cemetery on Rossendale Road, where names I'd seen on paper records and databases were now carved on stone or glittered on polished marble. Unlike the records generated by bureaucratic needs (the workhouse lists) these family and community acts of remembrance have a passion about them - they're very personal.

The Hapton Valley Colliery disaster in 1962 claimed the lives of 19 men, and left a further 20 seriously injured. Hapton Valley was known as a 'family pit' and the disaster hit hard at families in SW Burnley - The Stoops and Accrington Road areas.

The names of the men (and boys) lost in 1962 are also commemorated at St Marks Church on Rossendale Road, at Burnley Miners' Club and other sites. Annual services of remembrance are well attended by families and friends; a testament to the strength of community - the pit closed over 30 years ago.

Acts of commemoration are a significant thread in communities like SW Burnley. Honours boards, rolls of honour, plaques and monuments were a familiar presence in schools, factories, clubs and public buildings throughout the area - many listing the names of those lost in the First World War (many of these buildings are now also gone). What remains are the names themselves, carried forward.


Kelly

Photo Walk: The Sequel

A Need to Respect the Past

After several days now spent in Burnley, I am getting to grips with the geography of the town.
As the other Caroline has said (how are we going to manage with us having the same name?!), it was a very enjoyable morning spent decorating ceramics and meeting more lovely South West Burnley folk. Then onto the Weavers Triangle Visitor Centre to see the displays and talk to the attendants there. What knowledgeable people and generous with their time and information. I was struck by the sense of pride they have in the heritage of the town and how today's memories will be made from these foundations. In the same way as the regeneration of that area - with the new technical college - incorporates and respects the now redundant buildings, so the things we will remember from today need to respect the past. This last thought is also partly thanks to Cath, with whom I spent a pleasant hour today sitting by the canal talking about the groundUP project, its structure and history and aims.

Some small seeds of ideas for this residency have been germinating in my head. Not ready to go public with them yet, but they are there and growing in momentum. I need to do some detailed research now to see if there is any depth to them - watch this space!

Caroline (not the film one!)

Getting Started

Hello from Caroline and Dave, from Huckleberry Films.

We are both really excited about being selected to work on the Ground UP documentation project, and looking forward to meeting lots of you over the next few months.

Our proposal evolved from our initial ideas which were around the idea of creating a scrapbook. After reading the Ground UP blogs, and researching Kelly and Caroline’s practices and plans after they were selected, we spent some time working out the best way for us to document their work, and the whole project. Our new plan is to create a film that mixes live action documentation of the project and workshops, with animation... using animated characters to retell some of the of the stories and memories of people and place. The finished film will celebrate life in South West Burnley.

I arrived on the train into Rose Grove this morning for my first session on the project, and spent about an hour walking around the Stoops Estate on my way to meet Caroline. It was a warm day, with blue skies peeking through the clouds, and the streets were busy with people taking their kids to school, the refuse van emptying bins, and cars setting off to work. As I don't know the area very well, I enjoyed wandering around as a tourist, taking photos on my way.

  

Caroline and I met in a cafe for a brew and a natter as we've not met before, and I think we could have spent another hour swapping ideas if we'd not had somewhere else to be! After catching up, we went to the craft session at the Fold charity shop, where Cath Ford was running a ceramic painting session. Everyone was friendly and welcoming, and the 2 hours flew by as we painted, talked, and laughed. One of the participants Bernadette said she had really enjoyed herself, and described the session as 'the most fun I've had in yonks'.

Caroline - Huckleberry Films 

Belonging in Burnley

I am writing this from the first floor window of a property near Scott Park. The window is open and the birdsong is loud and insistent. The Park is beautifully kept and has been a great source of people for me to meet and talk to.

Forays along the paths and through the trees have led to intriguing conversations around the importance of the green spaces in Burnley to the town's people, for dog walking, pushing crying babies in pushchairs until they settle, exercise, attending concerts, getting away from things. I have noticed the pride and care people take in their gardens here, the acid soil allowing plants such as rhododendron, azalea and pieris to flourish.

All this has set me wondering what it is to belong. Whatever life throws at you, being a part of something can make things bearable - what is it that makes a place home, and comfortable, what do people do to create the strong bonds that I am experiencing when I meet the people of Burnley? Is it landscape, geography, community, openness, neighbourliness, care? Or is it genetic, a family trait passed on from generation to generation, a way of life?

Caroline

The Documentation Commission has been awarded to............

We are very excited to let you know that we will be working with Caroline and Dave of Huckleberry Films over the coming months to help us to document the Ground UP programme in SW Burnley.
The interviews were held last week and each one of the artists/organisations would have brought something unique to the programme and would have created work which would do justice to the memories, lives, creativity and future of the people of South West Burnley. We'd like to thank everyone who we interviewed for their interest in the project, for their time and for coming to meet with us. It was very inspiring.
Huckleberry Films proposed to create a mixed live action and animated film which would bring together the many strands of our work in SW Burnley including the artist residencies, the conversations, photos and films that people have contributed to the SW Streets Museum and the stories of some of the amazing people who live in the area. You can find out more about them and their work on their website.
Huckleberry Films proposal and approach shone out above the others. They had a clear understanding of our vision and values and we are confident they will produce a piece of work that everyone can be proud of. They also received the most votes on our online poll (although the numbers of votes were low!)
You will see them out and about over the next few months and Caroline will be joining us at the Fold in the morning (craft session 10-12) to begin meeting people and making plans.

Lots of ideas...

Had a great time walking the streets of SW Burnley, which for me are filled with memories. The physical area I grew-up in has changed considerably and is now marked by many absences - streets and schools have fallen silent or vanished completely. Change on this scale inevitably brings memory to the fore.
Memory is about loss, but it's also about continuity, the need to knit together a sense of past and present; it's about making meanings which help to hold us together, as an individual, a family and as communities. Memory is the point where time and place merge.
SW Burnley is awash with memories. I spent time at The Orchard on Stoops Estate, a sheltered housing community, and listened to residents Irene, Joan, Ray and Mick (all great grandparents) talk about their parents and grandparents. I visited Coal Clough Library and listened to Susan talk about the libraries she worked in (some now gone). I spent the following day at Hargher Clough Community Centre, which is a repository of memories, all lovingly cherished by Chris, a community worker of 30 years. Active commemoration is an important aspect of the centre. I was struck by the banners, one made with the help of Ground Up's Cath Ford, and marking the work of local people who marched against the cuts threatening their community space. Next to this was a banner marking the death of local boy Adam Rickwood - at age 14 he was the youngest person to die in custody. This banner accompanied Adam's family and friends to the inquest into his death. The name of Margaret, Adam's grandmother, takes pride of place on the Centre's honours board.
An interest in 'the past' can often be dismissed as nostalgia - a longing for a place, idealized, imagined. Nostalgia furnishes a dream of belonging - often to a place and time more imagined than real. SW Burnley is not awash with nostalgia, quite the opposite. Memory is active, it's lived. The act of remembering can be a form of resistance - 'this happened'.
Memories are personal, local - part of oral culture and family histories. Memories are the vital currency of everyday life, treasured, stored, exchanged, passed-on, but this fabric of memory is also fragile because it often goes unrecorded.
SW Burnley is often reduced to a statistical soundbite or quick headline in national systems of recording - all negative. Thankfully, in all the conversations I've had with residents these 'headlines' were the most significant absence.
Local memory can linger, despite impositions and change to the landscape. This photo by Robert Wade shows the Shepherds Arms at the bottom of Cog Lane - although closed for years it remains a landmark, known locally as The Peeps (Peeping Toms). The name change, imposed by the brewery, never caught on.
Kelly

Our First Photo Walk and I Saw Red!

We had a great walk yesterday - it was lots of fun, I think we all looked differently at our surroundings and we took some pretty good photos of the area. As Andy Ford (the photographer who worked with us) pointed out, as well as photographs we now have contacts with people who we have spoken to, taken photos of and who have seen us out and about. The more we do it the more normal it will become for us and for the community.
We've got a Flickr page and group now. Andy asked each of us to focus on something to help create a 'body of work'. I went for Red and it definitely helped me. The rest of the group also took some cracking shots which revealed so many different aspects of SW Burnley. I don't have access to them at the moment, but they will be uploaded and shared soon.
The plan is to meet again in two week's time on the 27th June 10.30-2.130 at the Fold. Please come and join us if you fancy it. Bring your own camera or use one of ours.
Cath

A basin of strong community bonds

Funny really, after such a short visit, but I was sad to leave Burnley earlier this week, even though I will be back in a few days time. The landscape of Suffolk was brought into sharp relief after living amongst the hills of Lancashire. Burnley is in a basin, surrounded, by hills including the famous Pendle Hill - but then all you 'Burnleyites' will know that. It seems to me, that the geography there connects with the nature of the people, theirs is an openness that can only come from a security borne through being held together in a basin of a strong community bonds.

On another note, I am looking forward to seeing a copy of The Clarion, published by Burnley school children and containing their hopes for the future. I think it might throw some light on the wonderful nature of the people. Thanks to Chris Keene for alerting me to it.

I'll be back early next week. if any one would like to meet up for a chat, please let me know!

Caroline

Photo Walk

Craft Session, New People and Fresh Energy

We had the first art and craft session at the Cabin this week. There were seven of us in total, which is probably about all that the room can manage comfortably, but more people are planning to come next time so we will find a way (even if a little uncomfortably).  Caroline, one of the two artists starting her residency with Ground UP, was able to join us for the session, which was lovely as she was able to chat to new people, follow up some areas of interest and join the fun. She was telling us how friendly she found SW Burnley on her initial walkabout and how open people have been, which was great to hear.

As one of the Ground UP core team of three I have been inspired and re-invigorated by my first couple of meet ups with Caroline and Kelly. They are bringing a new energy and fresh perspectives to the project and it feels like  the development work over the past few months is now feeding into positive activity and already there is a cross-fertilisation of ideas happening.

Today we also interviewed six people/organisations for the documentation commission. We haven't made a decision yet, but the process itself has encouraged more questions and ideas about how and what we want to document and what role the documenter will play. Each of the interviews was so completely different and each proposed process would bring something unique to Ground UP and the local community. Again, it was good to hear from each of the artists and discover why they had applied for the commission. Most told us that the opportunity to work with a project that is founded on a solid and 'Ground UP' process linked to the open brief had inspired them to submit a proposal. We must make a decision tomorrow so that the successful artists can get going and continue to build on the developing programme and energy around the project.

Oh, and tomorrow we are going on a photo walk with local photographer Andy Ford to photograph some of the people and places of South West Burnley.

Cath

John Murdoch

On Monday I was lucky enough to meet with John Murdoch. John was a popular entertainer in Burnley up to a decade ago with his themed 'Shamrock and Thistle' events. He had fabulous memories of his life after moving to Burnley in the 1960s. He first lived on Westgate before moving to Stoops Estate where he lived with his wife and daughter. More of John's story to follow, but for now, here are some pictures of his unique sitting room filled with novelty clocks. I also got to meet John's friendly companion, Chloe the dog.

Photographing South West Burnley

Whilst out and about I've been taking snaps of South West Burnley. In advance of our photography session with Andy Ford at Coal Clough Library tomorrow we've been encouraged to upload our photos so that we can have a look and learn how to make them better. These are unedited snaps, so forgive wonky composition, poor light and focus! See anywhere you recognise? What should we be photographing before it changes forever?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/groundupswburnley/

Steph

First Days Are Exciting

First days are exciting, and today - my first working on the groundUP residency, was no exception. Much of my time was spent talking to the lovely people of Burnley, such an open welcoming bunch of people. I have drunk a lot of tea, joined ladies in Scott Park on outdoor fitness equipment, chatted over the garden fence to a family on Rosehill Road and struck up a conversation with an elderly gentleman on the bus. I met with Denzel, who is a working horse and talked to Kelly, the other residency artist about her work and her background as a historian. Not many projects start with such a fascinating set of experiences - my notebook is already filling up nicely...

Art and Craft at the Cabin