When we moved from a very rural area nearly 3 years ago I decided I would take an interest in all sorts of things. Now living in a rural area as I did, there
wasn't a lot going on. Certainly not a lot that you could actively take part in. There may have been an historical society or a reading room but not much
else. To keep my brain alive I was a goevrnor of a couple of schools and at one of them I was the chairman. I enjoyed that role as it was interesting and
involving. But that apart from being an active member of the local branch of the Labour party that was about it.
But since moving here I have found so many other interests. One of them brings me into contact with so many interesting groups. So I thought I would share with you a very unusual and to me exciting group called YES.
It stands for Young And Elderly Society. It's aim is to promote the two groups talking to each other and recording their interests. It is mainly for families. So perhaps a grandchild will go to one or both of their grandparents with a booklet that contains lots of questions for both the younger and the elder. So the question may be: What type of food do you like or who was your first crush on. What films stars did/do you like. Each question is aimed at both people. There is also a diary that the elder person can fill in but it isn't a diary for today it is for the elder person to write about what happened to them in a particular year. So they could write about when they left school or their first day at work and so on. Mementoes of the past can be added to the diary. The one I saw today forinstance has a ten bob note stapled to a page and a pound note attched to another.
What I feel is so good about it is that it helps to bridge that gap of us talking to each other as families. You have to sit down and say to grandma/pa help me fill this in. This iniative is apparently nationwide. In our area the people who run it, volunteers, are going into schools to promote it. The cost of the diary and the question booklet is nil. They get their funding from various sources. For those of you with grandchildren I would seek it out if it is in your area as it is such a simple yet brilliant idea.
But since moving here I have found so many other interests. One of them brings me into contact with so many interesting groups. So I thought I would share with you a very unusual and to me exciting group called YES.
It stands for Young And Elderly Society. It's aim is to promote the two groups talking to each other and recording their interests. It is mainly for families. So perhaps a grandchild will go to one or both of their grandparents with a booklet that contains lots of questions for both the younger and the elder. So the question may be: What type of food do you like or who was your first crush on. What films stars did/do you like. Each question is aimed at both people. There is also a diary that the elder person can fill in but it isn't a diary for today it is for the elder person to write about what happened to them in a particular year. So they could write about when they left school or their first day at work and so on. Mementoes of the past can be added to the diary. The one I saw today forinstance has a ten bob note stapled to a page and a pound note attched to another.
What I feel is so good about it is that it helps to bridge that gap of us talking to each other as families. You have to sit down and say to grandma/pa help me fill this in. This iniative is apparently nationwide. In our area the people who run it, volunteers, are going into schools to promote it. The cost of the diary and the question booklet is nil. They get their funding from various sources. For those of you with grandchildren I would seek it out if it is in your area as it is such a simple yet brilliant idea.
