On Friday 1st May, the Abercrombie Court group met for the third time.
We started by setting out what we hoped to achieve during this session. We planned to feedback on activities since our last meeting. We also wanted to agree our next steps including the group’s contribution to the St Monans Art Festival in September.
New to the group
It was great to welcome two new faces to the group. Wayne Mathieson is a Local Area Co-ordinator with Fife Elderly Forum (FEF). Along with his colleague, Shirley Heeps, he is keen to support the group. They have great local contacts and a good understanding of ‘how things work’.
Wayne pointed out that there is a lot of interest in the kind of work this group is doing, in particular, where community groups come together and develop their own ideas. There should be many opportunities for us to share what we have learned to help other people do similar kinds of projects.
FEF are developing a directory of local resources so this will link well with our mapping activities. Much of their work involves supporting older people to access services and support and to build up friendships and social connections. Importantly, they work with individuals on their own terms. Wayne and Shirley may also be able to help us contact harder to reach older people in St Monans.
Also attending for the first time was Eileen Montador. Eileen is a retired Educational Librarian and 4th generation St Monans resident. She has written a book on local history and is currently researching another. Eileen heard about the group through Peter’s inquiries at the local Library, and would like to be involved.
Eileen described the work that was done previously to produce DVDs featuring local people’s stories. We considered how we could use a similar approach to bring people together, to watch the DVDs and/or tell their own stories. The group discussed the possibility of showing the film using Alan’s projector and inviting people to attend.
Since the last meeting
We fed back on what has happened in relation to the three ideas we identified at the last meeting.
1. Coffee Morning
The coffee morning on 20 April was well attended. Sandra and Margaret put posters all over the village and people also heard through word of mouth and at the church service. Most of the Abercrombie Court tenants came along and around six others. Sandra and Margaret baked, and made and served the teas and coffees, meaning they had less time to speak to people. At the next café, on 25th May, Sandra and Margaret will need more help so that there can be more of a focus on speaking to those who come along.
2. Historical Society
Peter had made some inquiries at the Library and found out about the previous work on reminiscence and historical discussions, this led to the contact with Eileen. Peter also found out that St Andrews Museum has ‘memory boxes’ that they can lend out to discussion groups.
Peter suggested that this could be a focus for one or more, of the coffee mornings. We could serve teas and coffees and then have a discussion around the contents of the box. It was felt that this might make it easier for people who don’t feel part of a group, to come along and join in. It may also be more appealing to men, who might not be keen on coffee mornings.
The group agreed that this was a great idea. Peter will contact St Andrews Museum to find out more, with the possibility of getting a box delivered for us to see at the next meeting and to include a discussion at the June coffee morning event.
3. Film Club
It was felt that the resources of the group should focus on developing one regular event, the coffee morning, for the moment. The group discussed the possibility of using the projection equipment to show the local history DVD. We may return to this idea.
Arts Festival
We have an opportunity to contribute to the St Monans Art Festival in September. Vivien suggested the possibility of working with Andy Archer from IRISS to create a series of portraits of local older people. Each portrait would include a short story from the person’s life. Andy’s project is called ‘Inkwell’. Vivien brought some examples of what the portraits might look like.
The group liked the idea and decided to use the next coffee morning to begin to look for people who might like to have their portrait included in the exhibition. Vivien will invite Andy to the next meeting on 12th June, to meet the group and possibly begin to collect materials for the portraits.
Vivien will confirm with the Arts Festival Co-ordinator, where the exhibition will be displayed. Wayne suggested that the local press might be interested in the Inkwell exhibition.
Roddy has photographs on display in the Lounge and Sandra and Margaret have handicrafts that could also be exhibited at the Festival.
Intergenerational Quiz
This is being organised across Scotland, by Generations Working Together (GWT). Local quiz teams made up of older people and young people (P7 pupils) take part in several rounds, until a national final decides the winner. It aims to be educational and to break down barriers between the generations. Wayne was also aware of this work and suggested that there is a local group in Fife, that we could make contact with. The group liked this idea but it may involve quite a bit of organisation. Vivien will contact the local Fife group and feed back at the next meeting.
Other Ideas
After discussing how to involve different generations and build community connections, the group decided to follow up with a local meeting of young mothers at the primary school. This group meets every week, so Margaret and Sandra agreed to call in and see if there are ways our two groups can support each other.
The group also considered other activities that could be part of the coffee morning or separate events. These included: flower arranging, crafts, book club, IT skills, photography and meditation.
We discussed the issue of mobility and how we can include people who find walking difficult or who have no transport. We know that community transport may be difficult to access and we would be reluctant to offer transport for people in case we were not able to meet the demand. Informal arrangements can work where people bring a neighbour, relative or friend. This may need to be where we start but we can revisit this issue.
Actions before the next meeting
We set ourselves a list of tasks to complete before our next meeting on 12 June. As well as the coffee morning on 25th May. We will put an advert for our coffee morning in the local newsletter, explore several new contacts and make inquiries amongst friends, neighbours and those attending the coffee morning, to find people to be involved with the Inkwell project.
Reflections
Finally, we discussed how we felt the project was progressing. The group felt that things were taking shape. That they felt we would be able to make things happen and that they were enjoying being involved. We recognised that we need to think about how the group can reach out to more isolated people in the community.