3 Aug 2015

This morning at Young At Heart the theme of our session was ‘Childhood’. In preparation for the session I created a blank ‘childhood’ chapter for a life story book to be completed by our members that concentrated on their ancestral family tree, siblings, favourite childhood memories and education. We also wrote a small amount about employment as some people didn’t go on to secondary or higher education, but went straight to work. Some of our members brought in some pictures from their childhood and teenage years and it was really interesting listening to the group compare notes on their memories of childhood, especially those who shared stories of their lives during the war.

After we had completed as much of the book as we could we had a group discussion about our favourite childhood games and favourite childhood sweets, although some members were quick to remind me that rationing was taking place during their childhood, which meant they didn’t have access to sweets like children do today. Members favourites were toffee apples, liquorice and pear drops.

Next week our session will be on the topic of food and I am hoping to take in a freshly baked ‘trench cake’ for the group to taste, although I don’t think I will wrap it in a sweaty sock!