Unexamined Lives

The story of the 20th century as lived by residents in the Derbyshire village of Borrowash

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Number 17 100 Years History of a Borrowash House

EARLY DECEMBER 

The stage is up in the school hall.  There are two boxes full of props in the corner of the classroom and there’s some serious word learning to be done.  With over sixty ‘characters’ in the play, and a cast of 35, many of the children will be portraying more than one character.  The challenge is to be ‘in character’ in the right place, at the right time, in the right costume with the right props   It’s fun and exciting,  it’s also hard work – lots of potential for chaos.

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Number 17 Blog update – November

 NOVEMBER 

Counting down to the big day (and night), our November sessions involve devising songs music, chants and poems for the performances, more drama ‘games’ and work on tableau formations.

With poet Dave Wood, the children create skipping rhymes, chants, and poems about moving. With 100 years and dozens of different ‘custodians’ living in Number 17 there’s a lot of ‘moving experiences’ to portray.  This is a Christmas performance so we need a carol or two as well.  No problem for the talented children of  Ashbrook Juniors!

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‘Number 17’ – 100 Years of a Borrowash House

Working with the children of Ashbrook Junior School Borrowash, Derbyshire.

It has been an exciting summer for local writer Chrissie Hall.

Working with Director Julian Hanby, Poet Dave Wood, under the aegis of Wash Arts and funded by Heritage Lottery Chrissie’s been writing a stage play tracing the history of a very special Edwardian villa in Borrowash, Derbyshire.

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Borrowash In The Post-War Era – Ruth Simpson

‘We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we began and to know the place for the first time.’ T.S. Eliot, ‘Little Gidding’

Many people who contribute to ‘Unexamined Lives’ do so because they want to re-visit past relationships and family experiences in order to make sense of them. For Ruth Simpson, however (who was born in Carlisle but moved to Borrowash with her family as a small child) it is the village itself that matters.

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Methodists in Borrowash – 220 Years … and Counting!

The Borrowash Methodist Church has celebrated 220 years of involvement in village life. On June 7th 2015, a service at the Nottingham Road church marked the occasion and an anniversary cake was cut by Brian and Jean Moore.

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Down By The Riverside – June Martin

2014 was a landmark year in the life of the nation because it marked the centenary of the outbreak of World War One. For June Martin, long-standing resident of the Priorway estate in Borrowash it bore an added personal significance because on 3rd of June, 2014, she reached the age of 80. Her children, Jeff, Janet and Nicola orchestrated the celebrations, beginning with afternoon tea at Hollies Farm and culminating in a memorable Sunday lunch in the Gun Room at Breadsall Priory restaurant:

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Additional Lottery Funding Awarded

Unexamined Lives’ is delighted to announce that we have been awarded ‘second tranche’ funding from The Heritage Lottery Fund having satisfied their requirements.

We are particularly pleased to note that the range and variety of the project was commended as was the quality and accessibility of the website and the clarity and precision of the accountancy provided by our Treasurer, Peter Ball.

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Days of Future Past – Helen Clark

My parents saved family photographs. Images of holidays, weddings and christenings were pasted into albums and stored in a drawer of the lounge sideboard where they lay undisturbed, year on year.

The more significant ones (my graduation, my mother’s retirement presentation) made it out of the drawer and onto the top of the sideboard. The top of the piano was reserved for just one item; a framed black and white photograph.

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Brothers In Arms – Walter Greiner

The 1914 unofficial ‘Christmas Truce’ when British and German soldiers crossed trenches to exchange cigarettes, swap food, sing carols and even play football is one of the most poignant emblems of World War One.

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Student Project Launched!

The collaborative project between Derby University and Unexamined Lives was officially launched at an event at Derby University yesterday. The launch was reported in the Derby Telegraph (click image below).

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