Golden moments

This was a lovely session – the children were so calm and focused on the activities and connecting with the adults, and there were some really special moments between them all.

They started with Stan leading a group warm up to the Match of the Day theme tune, after which the children told the residents a little about their trip to the Suffolk Archives and what it felt like, to be there.

Kian talked about the smell of the old books and how much he loved it.

Lacy said “It felt familiar, and I think Allan would have loved all the Spitfires.”

Mia commented that “It made me have loads of questions in my head about who lived in my house.”

After this, the group split into pairs, to look more closely at the children’s worksheets and learn about what they discovered at the Archive. And, as often happens, they discovered other things, too.

Oscar: “Allan taught me that a Spitfire is a plane – I didn’t know that.”

Kian and Mia: “Jim told us the name of the Trawler Boys came from the fishing industry here in Lowestoft.”

Next, it was the residents’ turn to show the children what they did last week – the clay discs they’d decorated with marks, which by now were dry and ready for the next stage.

The rest of the session was spent painting the discs a glorious gold, as they continued to chat about this and that. It was clearly a very relaxed, happy session, and one that moved Caitlin to write:

“This afternoon, I’ve witnessed some really beautiful moments between the children and residents, with Allan drawing for Oscar and Oscar totally focused on spending time with Allan.”

When asked what he like best about the session, Oscar responded: –

“My favourite bit was the painting and seeing Allan’s artwork.”