Some National Year of Reading Activity from Blackpool
This year, Blackpool was chosen to host the National Veterans Day event. Veterans Day is both a celebration of the contribution made by all those who have served in the Armed Forces, and a means of raising public awareness of veterans issues. Plans for a Veterans Day were announced in February 2006 by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, who said the aim was to ensure that the contribution of veterans was never forgotten. Every year since then, 27 June has provided a focus for the nation to recognise the part played by veterans of all ages in conflicts both past and present. On the day itself, and in the weeks leading up to it, events take place across the country, ranging from the national and major regional events, to dozens of local events organised by ex-Service organisations, councils, community groups and schools.
In Blackpool this event was to mark the culmination of a week of celebration and the library service was keen to play its part.
The NYR theme for the month was "Reading Escapes" and, while many people were thinking about "escaping" on holiday, in Blackpool we began to think about how people managed to "escape" from the horror of war and how we could identify what was popular reading material at that time. We particularly wanted to talk with women who had been in the land army and to hear about their experiences.
After looking at the timetable of events for the week and talking with staff, it was decided to have a "Veteran's Tea Party" at Blackpool Central Library. A service at the Cenotaph was being held from 11.00 a.m. until 12.00 so we decided to serve light refreshments immediately afterwards. Over 3,000 people were expected to attend the service. We estimated that approximately 10% of that number would accept our invitation so we aimed to provide food and drink for 300 people.
Once these arrangements had been finalised we considered how we were going to talk with the people about their reading habits and also how we would attract "land army girls" to attend.
As part our broader NYR activity, we are working in partnership with the Arts Service, to employ a Poet in Residence to create a "Poem for Blackpool." Our poet, John Siddique, is meeting residents of all ages and from all walks of life to gather their views and thoughts about the town. Who better to speak with and record the memories of the veterans?
To ensure that we reached the people we wanted to attract to this event, we worked with the Tourist department and the press office. Both of these were very helpful and proved successful in getting us an audience, particularly at finding us a group of former land army girls who were keen to attend.
On the day, we were almost correct in our estimate of approx. 10% of the participants at the cenotaph service responding to our invitation! At one point there were 175 people enjoying sandwiches, cakes and a hot drink, as well as a good chat. There was a display of photographs of Blackpool in the war and there was a sad moment when someone recognised his deceased wife on one of the pictures. Library staff dressed up in wartime costume and worked as waiters and waitresses for the afternoon. John Siddique was a big hit with the land army girls and was told many stories. He still tells us what a wonderful afternoon he had with these ladies!
We received many letters from people who had attended saying how much they had enjoyed themselves and wishing that we would do it on a monthly basis! One lady told the Central Library Manager "I haven't been in this library for 50 years. It is wonderful and I'm going to come back and make a nuisance of myself. I'm also going to tell my friends about it". She has indeed been back to the library regularly since then.
Legacy from this project alone, will include the poem created by John, which will be launched next year during the "Wordpool" festival. It is intended that this poem will be etched into a prominent place in Blackpool and will be accessible for present, and future generations of residents and visitors.
Contact details; jane.brooks@blackpool.gov.uk
