MA students Olivia Spencer and Teresa Macnab have been on a placement with Unlocking Our Sound Heritage. They have been exploring the sound archives, listening back to recorded interviews of people sharing their stories of living in the North West of England. Here is what they have found…

We have chosen some of their favourites and shared them as videos on the theme of holidays to Blackpool, and sporting memories. We have combined interviews with the sights and sounds of the scenes described.

These videos are designed to be multi-sensory, especially accessible for people living with dementia.

Are there any more subjects you would like to hear about, or any stories you would like to share?

Sporting memories

In this video, we will take you on a journey through different sporting memories. The clips included here describe getting your favourite sporting equipment for Christmas and playing with the whole street on Christmas day. There is also the story of transitioning from playing football with your friends, to going to support your favourite team for the first time. The video also discusses swimming and playing boules while sneaking out on a work outing.

• Do you play any sports? Do you have a favourite team you supported for any sport? Are there any famous sporting events you can recall?

Blackpool

When the sun comes out its time to go the beach, and for people in the North West, that means Blackpool! As the speakers in this video remember, Blackpool is famous for its pleasure beaches, food stalls, and dances at Tower Ballroom. Just don’t forget your umbrella, as Blackpool is famous for its rainy weather too!

• Where do you like to go on holiday? What’s your favourite thing about the seaside?

Playing the videos

• To play the video click the red play icon on the video. Click anywhere on the video to pause or restart the video.
• To fast forward or rewind, hover your mouse over the seek bar at the bottom of the video and click and drag the small red dot.
• To slow down or speed up the video, first click the settings icon on the bottom right corner of the video, then click ’playback speed’, then choose a speed.

Acknowledgements

Field recordings from BBC Sound Effects (bbc.co.uk – © copyright BBC).

Sound archive recordings courtesy of Bolton History Centre, Lancashire Archives, Manchester Central Library and Tameside Local Studies and Archives Centre.