June 2015

We always aim to introduce something different to amuse and interest our members at the memory cafe, and this month we were delighted to welcome John Sleep from West Pentire. John is affectionately known as ‘The Gramophone Man’ and he restores, repairs, buys and sell vintage gramophones and phonographs - his workshop is an Aladdin’s Cave!

John brought along several fascinating machines to show us and gave a brief history of these forerunners of our modern turntables, CD players, i-pads and other ‘hi-tech’ means of listening to music. Although these machines pre-dated even our oldest members, the classic  HMV (His Master’s Voice) logo of the dog listening intently to an early gramophone was familiar to us all, and it was wonderful to hear the scratchy sound of an old cylinder and 78rpm records played on original machines  - it brought the memories flooding back.

Amongst his vast collection of memorabilia, John showed us early shellac records, named record sleeves from many retailers in Cornish towns, postcards depicting phonographs and numerous needle tins.

We were spellbound by John’s knowledge and easy communication skills, although we were not sure what he thought of our afternoon tea being served on cake stands made of old (but well-scrubbed) records!

Puzzles and games were suitably themed to link with our overall topic of the afternoon and included a quiz based on songs from the days of the Old Time Music Halls which set us all thinking and, inevitably singing.

As usual, the afternoon passed very quickly with much chatter, reminiscences of our past and plenty of laughter. We were reminded that there would be a further opportunity to meet up again twice monthly, with our July sessions being held on Monday 6^th July and Monday 20^th July from 2pm – 4pm at Crantock Village Hall.

We are always pleased to welcome new members so should you need further information about our Memory Cafe  please contact Di on 01637 830544,  Joan on 01637 831347.

May 2015

This month we were transported back to the 1950s for an afternoon of music and memories!

A ‘trivia quiz’ on that era invited our members’ memories of those times and led to much chatter and laughter – talk of schooldays, first jobs, holidays, fashion and many other topics brought the decade to life, especially when photographs of some of our members and helpers taken at that time were passed around.

Everyone joined in the ‘singalong’ sessions, before and after a suitably 1950s tea break which included a cheese and pineapple ‘hedgehog’ and sausages on sticks (very trendy at the time!).  Music included songs by the stars of the day – Elvis, Cliff, Bill Haley, Ruby Murray, Alma Cogan and the Beverley Sisters, and of course we all remembered the words!

With a bit of tuition we attempted a handjive and gave a performance to the accompaniment of ‘Peggy Sue’ by Buddy Holly - a song from 1958.

Along with our usual fascinating selection of books, our display boards and puzzles the afternoon passed quickly and proved to be a great success.

The following poem, brought along and narrated by one of our members, perfectly caught the spirit of the times and gave us all food for thought:

The Way We Were

Sunday suits and hobnail boots

Shillings, pounds and pence

Reapers, binders, window winders,

Washing on the fence.

Cold stone floors and open doors

Shirts that reached our knees

Horses straining, teachers caning

Conkers from the trees.

Corn in shocks, white ankle-socks

Lime washed pantry walls

Tinkers, hikers, sidecar-bikers

Calf length overalls.

Rationed sweets, third class seats

Trains that ran on steam

Eleven pluses, country buses

Morris Minor green.

Trolleys, trams and telegrams

Propelling pencil sets

Saying graces, buttons, braces

Park Drive cigarettes.

Trilby hats, pink-ribboned plaits

Paraffin in lamps

Cut-throat razors, navy blazers

Saving foreign stamps.

Aertex vests and T.B. tests

Cigarette card swaps.

Trouser turn-ups, push bike burn-ups

Bald Kleen-eze mops

Acne, boils, cod liver oils.

Mother darning socks.

Aesop fables, twelve times tables

Girls in Dirndl frocks.

We said our prayers to kings and heirs

As old gave way to new

And bells were rung when we were young

In 1952.

Following on from this nostalgic verse we returned to the present day with some reluctance, but perhaps we’ll revisit the 1950s another time – there’s still much more to rediscover.

Our next meeting takes place on Monday 1st June from 2pm to 4pm at Crantock Village Hall. This will be followed up by an additional session on the third Monday of the month, i.e. Monday 15th June at the same time and venue. This is a direct response to our members’ request that we meet more often and we are delighted to provide another afternoon of social activities.

We are always pleased to welcome new members so should you need further information about our Memory Cafe  please contact Di on 01637 830544 or Joan on 01637 831347.

April 2015

The Memory Cafe took place one week later than usual this month to avoid Easter celebrations, and we were all keeping our fingers crossed for fine weather! Luckily, this paid off, as a Crantock Village Trail had been organised to get our members out and about exploring the centre of the village. To make things a little easier we met in the Memorial Hall and once again we were delighted to welcome some new members in addition to familiar friends.

After a cup of tea and a chat, a good number set off in the sunshine armed with a list of some of the many interesting objects, signs and buildings to be found around the village.

The trail took us around the green and up to the church, and gave everyone a chance to look more closely at places we so easily pass by.

Meanwhile, those who hadn't felt able to join us on our walk had the chance to complete their Village Wordsearch and undertake a ‘virtual trail’ with photos of the parts of Crantock the rest of the group had set out to explore.

Arriving back at the Memorial Hall for another ‘cuppa’ with delicious cakes and biscuits, we had a chance to compare findings and to look at an interesting selection of old photographs about the towns and villages of Cornwall. We were especially pleased to learn that one of our members had co-written books on St. Newlyn East which we had on display.  The beautifully painted mural of Crantock around the walls of the hall gave us a chance to see where we had been- luckily everyone had been on their best behaviour, so we hadn’t been obliged to put anyone in the village stocks behind the church!

As always, the friendly, relaxed atmosphere quickly put everyone at ease and next month we will be back in our usual venue of the Village Hall.  However, the cafe will once again take place one week later than normal to avoid the May Day holiday so we will be meeting on Monday 11^th May from 2pm to 4pm.

We are always pleased to welcome new members so should you need further information about our Memory Cafe  please contact Di on 01637 830544 or Joan on 01637 831347