Kindling’s Forgotten Fields project was enthusiastically received at the biannual Manchester Histories Festival by many visitors, young and old, (7 - 87) who popped in to see the food heritage work that has been researched and illustrated over the last two years.
On the Celebration Day (3rd March 2012) at Manchester Town Hall there were a fantastic mix of interested people...
from a lovely seven year old, who was intrigued to find out how a gold coin, dropped in a toilet and found in a field (‘night soil!’), could have started a successful business growing Timperley Early Rhubarb on Heyes Lane... (you may like to see it...page 7 of the calendar...http://forgottenfields.org.uk/content/heyes-lane-timperley-2011-calendar)
...to university lecturers offering students for mutual benefit.
It was great to get all kinds of feedback...
One, ‘only slightly disappointed’customer' who visited Broughton Library and was looking forward to seeing detailed maps, left feeling happy that Fiona would try to trace the field in Prestwich called ‘Glebelands’ that won the title of Best Field of Grain in 1903 (will look at the tithe maps...any information anyone?!!)
One lecturer from LMU, who studies children’s drawings, found the calendars a ‘creative and appealling’ way to convey the histories.
It is always really great to see some of our older participants in the project, who dropped by to check progress and keep us on our toes...(you know who you are!)
We quietly ‘launched’ the website (http://forgottenfields.org.uk) which is being slowly, but continually, being updated, with regional information, transcriptions and sound clips from the research interviews, photographic archives and the latest calendar work
...and where, last but not least...
one young woman discovered a photo of a long lost (market gardening!) relative, and was subsequently introduced to her contemporary relative who had a stall at the festival...
Don’t you just love a good ending?
Many thanks to Jane Sebire who helped on the day and to Joe who brought a little bit of chocolate. Great!