Jul
1
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.
Apr
15
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.
Nov
28
Brian Day from Menheniot in Cornwall would agree with 17th century poet, Andrew Marvell, that there is little to beat ‘a green thought in a green shade’.
How well the skilful gardener drew
Of Flowers and herbs this dial new,
Nov
28
‘So you want to be a rock ‘n’roll star
Then listen now to what I say
Just get an electric guitar
And take some time and learn how to play
And when you hair’s combed right and your pants fit tight
It’s gonna be all right.’
Oct
14
World War One occasioned the highest number of fatalities in military history, culling an entire generation; sometimes within weeks of arrival at the front.
Back home, photographs of sons, husbands and fathers; never to be wearied by age (or tested by life) shadowed successive generations … until time took its toll:
Sep
10
In 1980, Mary Hodges who knew just about everybody in Borrowash and had a longstanding connection with St Stephen’s was asked to organise an exhibition for the centenary of her church.
Thirty four years later, Mary found herself sitting at a table in Gordon Road, helping to plan commemorative activities for another milestone in the history of a village that has been her home for the past 52 years: the outbreak of the First World War.
Sep
8
In the 20th century, a local post office was a crucial component of village life and during the First World War; women queued at its counter, hoping for news of husbands, brothers or sons at the Front.
Sep
3
‘Unexamined Lives’, the story of the 20th century as it was lived by residents in the Derbyshire village of Borrowash, has interviewed and transcribed conversations with over fifty people since the project began in 2010 and this paper will aim to provide a sense of women’s collective experience.
Jul
31
Claire Anderson works for Hannell’s Estate Agent as a Sales Negotiator. She admires the ambition of the company and enjoys changing people’s lives by handing over the keys to a new home. It is a job with prospects and she knows that she’s a good prospect too.
Jul
31
In 1942, Tom Matchett started work at ‘Coates the Butcher’ in Borrowash.
He was 15 years old and the Victoria Avenue business was a popular fixture in the village with a growing reputation for service.
