Reminiscence

The Heritage and Museum Service also offer a reminiscence loan box service. This service was established in partnership with a project entitled, Valuing Heritage by Valuing Memories and was managed by Reminiscence Network Northern Ireland. This project has now come to a conclusion but the Heritage and Museum Service are delighted to be able to continue providing the loan box service. Reminiscence is the recall of memories and experiences from all aspects of a person’s life and this is reflected by the themes of the loan boxes. There are eight boxes available for loan from the Tower Museum:

• Rural Life
• Home Life
• 1950s
• Leaving Home
• Schooldays
• At the seaside
• Factory Life
• Christmas Time

To find out more information about what’s in the boxes click on the navigation column.

There is no charge for borrowing these boxes and the loan period is for a maximum of two weeks. The borrower is required to collect and return the box to the Tower Museum, Derry / Londonderry and is responsible for the safe return of all the items borrowed.

 

Rural Life

The rural way of life conjures up many diverse memories for people. For some it was where they lived and grew up, whilst for others, the countryside is where they went during summer time to stay with seldom seen relatives. As a result of this, memories can be both enjoyable and difficult and certain objects can trigger a range of emotions. Rural life and city life were very different and the objects contained in this box aim to illustrate this disparity. In this box there are items such as, butter prints and pats, a pair of fire tongs, a rabbit snare, a flour bag and linen flax and a yarn spinner. The box is accompanied with a resource file containing tips and advice for carrying out a reminiscence session.

 

 

Home Life

This loan box relates to the broad theme of home and everyday living. It includes various themes associated with home such as the street where you lived, the house where you grew up, friends and neighbours, courtship, and marriage. The box is also connected to the ordinary aspects of domestic living such as bathing and hair-washing, recipes and cooking, illness, home remedies and cures. Many of the items contained in the box are no longer part of domestic life or modern day living and therefore provide a great opportunity for people of all ages to talk about their lives and to appreciate their life stories as a rich resource for themselves, their families and their communities.

 

1950s Box

This loan box contains a range of items associated with life in the 50’s. It includes various themes such as house and home, fashion, cooking, products, popular music and film. House and home was a key theme as many young couples setting up home in the 1950’s embraced the new, bold fabric patterns, brightly coloured furniture, coordinated interiors and geometric design that appeared on crockery. A growing emphasis on hygiene encouraged the use of light plastic for household goods, while the easily cleaned Formica was ideal for kitchen surfaces and furniture. Latest developments in technology benefited the 1950’s housewife such as hot running water, electricity, vacuum cleaners, refrigerators etc. After years of rationing, restrictions on soap, paper, petrol and sweets came to an end during the 50’s. Publishers of magazines increased their size and brought out many new titles. A new world of fabrics and styles opened up for the fashion conscious and man-made fibres such as Crimplene, Polyester, Courtelle and Dacron became increasingly popular.

 

Leaving Home

The Leaving Home loan box relates to the universal theme of leaving one’s home in order to make a new home in another town-land, another county, country or continent. The loan box themes include various items associated with Leaving Home such as the suitcase, personal items and imagery. The theme of the loan box is open to interpretation for people of all ages who can recall or imagine leaving home either short term or long-term. Reasons for leaving may also vary such as finding work, marriage, education, time of war etc. Some people will have painful memories of leaving; others will enjoy recounting the experience and sense of adventure. People’s memories of leaving home are bound to be very different as they may be individual experiences or those of a relative or friend. They may also relate to a specific period in time.

 

Schooldays

School attendance is one of the few experiences which everyone is likely to have had. Nevertheless people’s memories of their school are bound to be different as well as having many similarities. Some people still have painful memories of harsh treatment; others will enjoy laughing at things they used to do. You can use this session to celebrate skills which people still have, for instance the ability to recite poems, remember time-tables, add pounds, shillings and pence or write with fine handwriting.

 

At the seaside

Long before foreign travel became so accessible and affordable a trip to the beach was the highlight of ones’ holiday. When the weather was good the beach was the ideal place to enjoy the sunshine and lots people left the city by any means they could. This box contains items such as, a bucket and spade, a beach ball, shells, postcards, fishing net and many more, and are intended to evoke memories of the occasion of going to the beach and the activities which ensued thereafter.

 

Factory Life

This box is designed to remind us of the importance and the scale of the factory industry that once existed in Derry/Londonderry. The shirt factories have left a lasting footprint in this city in social, economic and architectural terms. This box is mostly comprised of images representing factory life as well as books on types of sewing machines and some shirt pieces made in the factory itself.

 

 

Christmas Time

This is very much a seasonal box but nevertheless it can be used effectively throughout the whole year. The items within this box are intended to show the changing face of Christmas over the years and maybe highlight how commercial it has become. This box can bring both sad and happy memories for participants, as Christmas is often a time for family celebration and reflection on the preceding year. This box contains triggers such as, toys, decorations, cards and festive foodstuffs which are sure to alert all the senses.