More Postcards from Louie

Meetings have been had

Visits have been made

Stories recorded

Recipes saved!

It's all going on!

Great news update for Postcards from Louie as it grows and gains momentum within the community.

Louie's son Alun very kindly brought down Louie's toys from the attic. One of the items is a collection of tiny vinyl records for a children's gramophone! Now then, this is very exciting indeed (especially as I am a musician!) 

Having spoken with Jodie Boyd the Occupational Therapist at the home and doing some research,  science shows us that the part of the memory storing music, is the last to fade. Louie's collection of songs is from the age of about 10 years through her teens. These songs,  are lost songs; Songs that might just access the long term memories for people of the same age group as Louie.

Alun has very kindly catalogued the songs and found on line links to some really old recordings. I have sent the links to my good friend Jeff Beer, who has sound engineered for me throughout my career and he has kindly agreed to compile a CD of these songs for us so that Jodie can use the songs with her clients. This could potentially bring joy to so many people. Many thanks Jeff.

I have composed a collection of 7 children's songs/ nursery rhymes. The CD will be called 'Postcards from Louie'

We are applying for funding to make 100 CD's which will look like Louie's vinyl.

We are applying for funding for materials to make 100 lyric and story booklets in the style of Louie's 21st Birthday card. Melanie Phillips an artist from Pencader who studied at Bournemouth and Poole College of Art and Design & is  Co-Director of Pet Portraits and a friend of mine, has very kindly agreed to graphic design the booklet for free.  Many thanks.

These will be distributed to old folk homes as memory joggers for other older folk, and offered to local schools and Carmarthenshire libraries so that we are sharing and disseminating local welsh women's history to mainstream access points.

Arts Care Gofal Celf have very kindly agreed to pay £200 towards my petrol costs and £150.00 towards the expense of the materials needed for the booklets and CD's. This has been accessed via The Baring Foundation. Many Thanks. 

I am going on a story map day over the Easter break with Jill and Alun to plan the site specific performance tour of Postcards from Louie for the children.

I am going back to visit Louie again tomorrow to chat to her about modes of transport from Llanstephan to Carmarthen as  this will inform how I work with the children on the 21st Century time travel bus! (known more commonly as a coach!)

The People's Collection at National Library of Wales have kindly lent me a Digital Storytelling kit which I have used to collect images from Louie's collection. Many thanks.

The People's Collection Wales have offered to train, for free, a group of 15 staff identified by Jodie within the care homes so that they can record the stories of the old folk! Isn't that an amazing legacy for the story!! Potentially, there will be 15 staff in Carmarthenshire care homes who can perserve people's stories. Brilliant!

Jodie has agreed to fund and arrange the tea party for the older folk and the children at the end of the Children's Trail when they come to visit and sing. Many Thanks.

At the tea party, the school children will sing a medley of old traditional children's hymns which they are learning for the 200 year anniversary of Capel Newydd and  also a repertoire of war songs that they sang in The 50th Anniversary celebrations of Llangain MEMORIAL hall, just last week. 

Louie passed Capel Newydd Chapel every day on her 2 mile walk back and for to school and faithfully attended for services. It was an important part of her childhood and fitting indeed that the children will bring a piece of Capel Newydd with them to the Old folk home.

Jill has found some old cake recipes of Louie's and these will be made for the tea party for everyone.

Now then, do you see how this story is telling itself! How people have warmed to it, taken to it, want to be a part of it? Look at the wide reaching potential that is growing from it? Not because we have been asked by a funding body to reach X amount of people, but because inherently, it is a story of the people, by the people for the people and so,  naturally, people want to be part of it, they ARE part of it. It is telling itself in the spirit of the story.

Artistically, morally and socially, this pleases me ... 

Many thanks to:

Jeff Beer: www.zerooneguitars.blogspot.co.uk

Melanie Phillips: www.pet-portraitartist.com

People's Collection Wales: www.peoplescollectionwales.co.uk

Arts Care Gofal Celf: www.acgc.co.uk