'Voices of World War I' Creative Workshop - delivered by Emma Golby-Kirk

 Actors Annie Sanger-Davis and Nate Stafford-King perform a rehearsed reading of a 30 minute play crafted from the diaries, letters and artifacts of real people, which are held in the Hampshire Record Office. Groups and organisations thinking of running WWI centenary events should definitely pay a visit to the county's archive in Winchester. Membership is free (with photo and address I.D.) and it opens a door to literally thousands of WWI related items - some of which have been through the blood and mud of the trenches. Stories abound.

Velmore: From Huts to Homes History Book is Launched

After much anticipation, the first history book written exclusively about theVelmore estate and its unusual beginnings as a post-war hutted camp, was lauched at the Velmore Community Centre on 6 March 2014. The book is the culmination of a reminiscence project with people who have lived on the estate since as far back as 1958, or who lived in the camp as children in the 1950s.

From the beginning, the dwellings on Velmore have undergone more changes than most.  Originally a collection of hastily built tarran type huts - designed as temporary accommodation - Velmore emerged as an estate of concrete and metal framed dwellings that over time were turned into various homes made of brick.  Years rolled on and outdated bungalows with gardens too big and kitchens too small were demolished to be replaced by many more homes in the shape of flats and bungalows that sit amongst the remaining houses. 

Shops came and went and so did the green spaces on which the children played.  Traffic free roads became packed with parked cars and the walk to the shops in Eastleigh turned overnight into a drive to the hypermarket that is just up the road. 

Many residents have lived through all the changes whilst recent developments have meant even more homes and therefore an even bigger community with new generations of children growing up on the Velmore estate. 

 

We are very proud to launch the story of the Velmore Estate and its people from the 1950s to present day. 

For more information, including how to buy a copy, visit: https://www.firstwessex.org/latest-news/residents-tell-tales-of-the-velmore-estate-at-book-launch-1253/

Velmore History Book due in Spring 2014

The Velmore History Project is progressing well. A book exploring the story of the estate from the 1950s to the  present day will launch in Spring 2014. It will feature previously unpublished photos of children playing around the Nissan huts of the Velmore Camp, which were used to house local  families after the war. Featuring the recollections of the first generation of Velmore families, the first history book to be written about the Velmore area will put this much ignored housing estate firmly on the local heritage map, celebrating the vibrant community it has grown into.

(Image shows the opening of the Velmore Chapel in the 1960s).

Velmore Local History Project 

Volunteer Oral History Interviewers required

Do you enjoy talking to people about the past and hearing their memories of times gone by? Are you interested in the history of the the Eastleigh / Chandler’s Ford area, in particular, the Velmore estate.

If so, we would like to invite you to join the Velmore Local History Project and help us record the stories of residents, past and past, for inclusion in a book about how the area has developed over the decades from a hutted camp in WWII to the thriving residential community it is today.

We are looking for a team of three volunteers to form an Oral History Interviewing and Research team, donating a few hours of time a month to project activities, from September to December 2013.

Volunteers will attend two free 2 ½  hour Oral History Interview Skills training sessions run by Now Heritage CIC. There will also be the opportunity to attend Archive Research sessions at Hampshire Record Office and Eastleigh Museum.

If you are interested in this opportunity you must be available for training on Wednesday 18 September from 12:30-3:00pm and Tuesday 24 September 1:00-3:30pm. All other time commitments will be flexible.

For further information or to register your interest, please call Emma Golby-Kirk on 07931 736739 or email emma@nowheritage.org. 

NB) The Velmore Local History Project is commissioned by First Wessex Housing Group and delivered by Now Heritage Community Interest Company.

Between Wind and Water - Glorious weather, glorious rehearsal venue, glorious play

Ten days of rehearsing at the wonderful waterside venue of Abbey Hall in Netley are drawing to a close and we are happy to say that our new play Between Wind and Water  is almost ready to launch on it's shoreline tour along Southampton Water.

The play, written by Southampton based Deborah Gearing, explores in sixty minutes all the longing, the yearning, the ambition and heartbreak of lives lived beside the spell of the sea and the wide world that's out there for the taking.

Between Wind and Water opens at Vellan Court Sheltered Housing Scheme in Millbrook on Wednesday 24 July and it also plays at Weston Court, Kingsclere Ave, Weston on Friday 1 August at 1:30pm. Activity Coordinator, Bev Weir, is keen to invite local people into the housing scheme to watch the show alongside sheltered residents. To reserve tickets for these shows, telephone 023 8091 5154.

The play will also be at Tudor House Museum on Thursday 25 July at 2:30pm and tickets - which can be booked by telephoning 023 8083 4563 - include entry to the museum and gardens.

The run finishes by the water's edge with an 8:00pm performance on Friday 1 August at Abbey Hall, Netley.

Tickets for the Abbey Hall performance can be booked via Eventbrite: www.betweenwindandwater.eventbrite.co.uk

'My Ship of Dreams' Theatre Project Launches

We are delighted to announce that we have received Arts Council funding to produce a one hour piece of theatre celebrating and exploring Southampton people's connections with the sea.

The project will explore the unique histories of shoreline communities along Southampton Water, from the Docks at Millbrook to Thornycrofts at Woolston, and special attention will be paid to those who jumped about the luxury liners in search of fortune and adventure.

Writer Deborah Gearing is keen to weave real voices and stories into her fictional tale, and has been busy exploring the collections of Oral Histories in the City Archives including 'Woolston Before the Bridge' and the 2005 'Vosper Thornycroft' project.

Added to this, we are gathering stories from residents in sheltered housing schemes along the shoreline and we will be running drama workshops in youth clubs to help us with our research.

The show will tour shoreline venues in the summer, playing at:

• Vellan Court, Millbrook - 24 July, 1:30pm
• Tudor House Museum - 25 July, 2:30pm
• Weston Court, Weston Shore - 2 August, 1:30pm
• Abbey Hall, Netley - 2 August, 8:00pm

3 acting placements and 2 stage management placements will be offered to young people aged 16-19 to work alongside professional actors and crew.

9 young people will take part in a Print Design course at Red Hot Press to help us create the online publicity campaign.

For more information on any aspect of this project please email emma@nowheritage.org

The Queen Mary

'Story of The Croft' Website Launch

The Story of The Croft website launched today at a 'bijou' social gathering at Clarendon College in Nottingham.

The website features first hand accounts of life as a single mum during the 1960s and 1970s as told by women who lived at The Croft, a pioneering shared housing scheme set up by the grassroots Nottingham based charity Family First.

Please have a look and a listen and feel free to share your comments about any aspect of single mothers' experiences on the website's comments page: www.storiesofthecroft.org.uk