Age UK - Air Raid Shelter Memeory

This is my final piece of work for Age UK. I have been using Photoshop alot recently, and so it makes a change to go back to mostly hand rendering work. I am actually fairly proud of my final design, because it has everything I have looked at over this project merged and I can see all the bits of research built together. The Air Raid Shelters that I looked at, the doll on the floor and the chips on the bench, provided by Betty's tales, various objects were found in the room when I visited the Shelters.

I eventually edited the final piece on Photoshop, just to give it that watercolour paint effect (because I am terrible at painting, very terrible). I think the paint effect worked quite nicely, the floor looks really dusty and the area looks very eerie and dark. It gives off the Air Raid Shelter vibe I was striving for.

What a lovely project this has been. I was really glad to work for Age UK, I will finish the project by leaving with the message I sent with the final piece...

A few weeks ago, I went to a daycare to talk to a few elderly people who are suffering from Dimentia. One person that stood out in my mind was Betty who told me a few stories from war time which she went through. She told me a story about going to a chip shop and buying fish and chips, but because she knew the person behind the counter, she received three fish instead of one! Another story she told me was when the sirens alarmed and everyone was rushing to the Air Raid Shelters, and she wasn't to be found anywhere. Her parents eventually found her in the Air Raid Shelters playing with her dolls safe and sound.

I have taken a visit into the Stockport Air Raid Shelters and had a good look round to get a feel of what it must have been like during war time. I have been sketching several areas and objects from the shelters, both on-site and at home from photographs I took. My final piece is an area in the shelters that included a bike, a gas mask, a fire extinguisher and several other objects. In reference to Betty's stories, I also included a doll along with fish and Chips in the scene. I feel that my image has captured the atmosphere of what it would have been like in the war time.

I really enjoyed talking to the people at the Day Care, they had some very interesting stories to tell, and my heart goes out to those suffering from Dimentia. I hope my piece of work brings back memories from the war time, and lights up the memories for those who lived through that time.

- Tom

Raiding The Air Raid Shelters

I have been investigating the mysteries of the Stockport Air Riad Shelters, I was alone in their which added to the spooky eerieness and left a cold feeling in my spine, the fact that many people were squeezed into here many many years ago to avoid getting killed, it's quite scary to be in here! I came into here primarily to get a feeling of what they look like and maybe snag a few photos, but I also decided to do some sketches in my sketch book.

I wonder what secrets have been boarded up...

Old objects left around, like a wrecked ship!

I really love this, like a stash of old war-time objects, really amazing!

I stroll into an old medical ward...

How the kitchen areas may have looked in war-time

Toilets? Pipes with lids*

The eeriness is unreal, especially on your own! 

So this was my journey through the Air Raid Shelters. I really enjoyed looking through history in this way, it isn't something I'd have thought about doing, had I not done this project for Age UK.

Age UK - Chatting to the Elderly

I took a visit to a daycare centre for the elderly in Reddish to better inform some of the locations I have picked out. At first I was very nervous as I wasn't quite sure what to think or how to behave to being surrounded by many people. It was fine after awhile, but sadly, so many of the elderly seemed so confused due to the dimensia. Many of them were in tangles about their past, but I did manage to get a bit of information from a nice lady called Betty in relation to the Air Raid Shelters. 

"I remember the sirens going off, my parents got up and ran straight to the Shelters, but they couldn't find me anywehere. They eventually found me playing with my dolls, I was already in the Air Riad Shelters!"

"In those days I had a friend that worked in the chip shop, I went and got my fish and my chips one day, and she threw me an extra fish! Because I knew her 'course.. Actually no it was two extra she gave me! Hahaha"

It was funny listening to their old tales, and at the same time, quite sweet. Given the discussions, I need to look further into the Air Raid Shelters, to get a good look at what they look like now (as I have never visited them before!).

Age UK - Historical Buildings

A few days ago, I began a new project for Age UK, a voluntary organisation that help the elderly in so many different ways, how nice for them to accept a project. Age UK also helps those with dementia, a very frightening illness common in many elderly people today. This is especially relevent to me because my Nana died recently and she had dementia for many years, and lost all memory of most of the family, it really is saddening to do the project with these things at the back of my mind, but I am trying to think of it as a posative way to raise awareness of the disease and try to bring back their memories of the past. 

The project has started with a tour around Stockport, looking at the many old buildings still standing today. The tour was given by a man from the Stockport Heritage Centre, and we looked at around 18 different sites and buildings. A few locations that sparked an interest to me were; The Air Raid Shelters, The Brewery, The Old Rectory, and the Church. 

I am going to be talking to a few elderly people in the daycare centre in Reddish, to get a better perspective of what these buildings were like in the war time. I am a little nervous because I am not sure what will happen and even if the people will properly understand me, but fingers crossed that they will be nice to me!