All Year 10 school pupils are required to sign up to Work Experience as part of their student development Many of my friends found themselves taking orders in cafes, or cleaning in gyms, or running admin tasks for accountants I’m worried that most of them saw the more impatient side of people in these experiences, as work is, by definition, an obligation that does not necessarily inspire For me, however, my time liaising with the patrons of Lidgett Methodist Community Cafe was an unforgettable pleasure. We hear a lot about how elderly residents feel disconnected from younger generations Well, the same is true for me If it weren’t for my grandparents, I’d never get to speak to anyone over the age of 65 The digital divide and changes in society have meant that a great gap has widened between people
The Community Cafe does what it says on the tin It is a place of community I heard heartbreaking stories and was inspired by how friends rally to help people through tough times; I learned how to play Boccia; I found out that Acomb was pretty much all farmland When the German planes spotted the long, straight mile of Beckfield Lane they bombed it as they thought it was an airstrip.
Above all, I was offered a warm welcome by gentle, funny people. My time working for the York charity New Visuality was both humbling and great fun I’m looking forward to returning to Lidgett Methodist Community Cafe as soon as I can
RowanMcGee
Dave: “Three things Community, company, and new friends. There are plenty of dog walkers here, and we a have something in common You get chatting and then after a while you become firm friends.”
Peter: “As you can see there’s a lot o people here, a lot of people who com from different walks of life. There’s a postman, there’s someone who used work on the railway, and now we’re a to sit back and share stories, pass around anecdotes about our jobs and where we’ve been in our lives over a cup of tea ”
CONVERSATION
you get older, you have to get hat’s a piece of advice we isten to I’m finding origami a and you know what? I’m ter by the day! There are ho come here and get involved es and it’s just really nice to ething out of paper and hand it m. It’s all good fun.”
got to be honest, coming here my life I was a carer for my ears, she had dementia It was I just got on with it. The re very impressed, but that me from getting low I was so my friends spotted it and they d me to come here. I haven’t k It has been life saving ”
Peter: “In 1961, I was a Steam Engine cleaner. That was very interesting. I've been involved with woodwork, gardening, all sorts It’s good to share stories and to listen to stories ”
Reg: “Coming here, there’s no special treatment or judgemental opinions. I have found that we stick to ‘we’re all in the same boat’ philosophy So we chat and we catch up. These things (pointing at smartphones) don’t actually help. You cannot beat a face to face get together Friends find it easier to help each other when they’re face to face ”
Jeff: “It’s a case of coming here for the conversation and the banter There’s always something to listen to or add to, and it’s always done with good humour ”
PALS
Reg: “It’s a nice place to catch up in a relaxed way There are times when you might not have been in a while, because as we all know, life takes over Well, when you been away ” pressive is k to get the ed with boxes rganised by hose less nia ” s always nt We accept her. I’m lucky, g good jobs everyone’s
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Phone calls, text messages, and face to face meetings over tea and cake in a beautiful hall keep the friendships going.
Sheila: “I feel like I have proper friends here. For instance, Chris took me to hospital recently.”
Chris: “Sheila was in pain, so I said, ‘Come on, we’ll get you to hospital Joannie (the dog) went with us ”
“WE KEEP IN TOUCH HERE, IT’S THE MAIN
REASON WHY
Sheila: “Where I go she goes! Joannie, that is, not Chris (laughs) Joannie is a hearing dog She listens for the telephone and doorbells ”
Chris: “She was very well behaved, to be honest ”
Sheila: “I was very grateful, Chris Thank you ”
Chris: “We’re all here, we all ask how we’re all getting on. We phone each other up. If one of us isn’t here, we call them and check to see if they’re OK. In Sheila's case it’s a text as she can’t hear ”
Sheila: “I became used to hospitals since my childhood I fell off a horse when I was 15 It wasn’t my fault or the horse’s, it was the fault of the man who saddled her I landed on my shoulder and I must have looked a bit of a mess because someone said, ‘Sheila, you’ve broke your collar bone.’ But it was the humerus bone.
I’m 93 now. That was in 1947. It got me off school for 7 wonderful weeks. It was a beautiful summer While my friends were studying I sat in the shade of the garden for 50 days, reading and daydreaming I actually had a lovely time ”
Sheila and Joannie
Ann: “I’ve been coming since I was 8. I got married here. I have a lot of happy memories ”
Shirley: “It’s definitely a wonderful group of people If you’re new, you might not know people when you arrive, but you’ll definitely know them when you leave ”
Chris: “I used to bring my grandkids here, when they were 13 and 9 years old It’d be relaxed and fun, we’d sing songs They were catchy enough to be stuck in my head all day!”
Shirley: “I used to come to the Leisure Group, which has become the Fellowship Group now. 3rd Monday of every month.”
Chris: “Now she can’t stop going!”
Shirley: “It’s the easiest way for us to catch up We all appreciate it and nobody’s judgemental ”
Ann: “Here’s a seal of approval for you Although we live in Poppleton, we like it so much we make the journey every week!”
“I also come here on the first Saturday of every month and enjoy the raffle. There’s a cup of tea, some cake, we enjoy a natter, and catch up on some gossip!”
“It’s not an easy place to feel lonely There’s no one here to judge you or even to force you into conversation. You can be as chatty or as quiet as you like I personally have taken a lot from coming here, and I would recommend it to anyone.”
“We catch up over Boccia. It’s a game that only needs 4 people. We’ve got that number. All are welcome!”
Helen: “We have Cat Food sharing with people from across the church. That goes a long way in helping people in need.”
“I loved learning to play Boccia with everyone It’s a gentle game and gets quite addictive. I would urge anyone to give it a try, the ladies who play are really welcoming and funny ” Rowan, All Saints, aged 15
Helen: “I love Boccia To be honest, we need more people to come and join the Boccia Club It’s great fun, it’s good for mental health, and you get talking to a lot of lovely people ”
Caroline: “I agree, Boccia is a great way for people to get to know each other and creates a good excuse for frequent meetings.”
Mary: “All these things help Mental Health all these things o to get involved d they keep the
ou live on your own mmend this place are so, so many n’t know about the available on their is a great place to xed and friendly ”
en for myself the hurch can offer vice versa
e community who not necessarily but they too can world a better place Things like the Food Banks that are organised here go a long way in helping others.”
Mary: (laughs) “We’ve had whole days talking about cats! We’ve had people naming their cats after Harry Potter characters, and saying how each cat takes on the personality of their namesake!”
Mary: “Last week we all shared stories about different actors we met years ago in clubs, or more recently, people we have met in Waterstones.”
Helen: “There’s a lot of good stuff coming up The Fellowship Group has events and guest speakers coming up It’s all on the newsletters and we all talk about it, so it’s easy to stay informed
Mary: “Things change, sometimes for the better, sometimes not so much. It’s a very welcoming place.”
Helen: “Oh there’s always something on There are guest speakers who come in the middle of the month, there’s afternoon tea, there are parties It’s all great fun and it’s open to everyone in the community There are a lot of lonely people out there This is the kind of place that helps with that ”
Boccia, a Paralympic sport similar to bowls, is played at Lidgett Community Cafe
Boccia is a target ball sport played from a seated position, making it accessible and inclusive for various abilities
At the moment, there ar only 4 players who mee every Wednesday My advice is to go and give a go!
Rowan, aged 15, All Saints School.
PLAYING BOCCIA AND TALKING VE DAY
Caroline: “I’m a bit ambivalent about the whole commemoration thing I’ve heard about it all my life We’re encouraged to sing ‘Till the Boys Come Home’, but a lot of them didn’t come home, so a lot of the joy doesn’t fit with me I try to avoid it ”
Helen: “I watched the VE Day celebrations on TV I’ve also been watching a lot about just how horrific World War 2 was, and how after D-Day finding what Hitler and the Nazis were doing with their camps actually pushed our boys to do more and to do it quicker ”
Caroline: “At the time, VE Day was a big event In London they obviously had a lot going on because of its status as a capital city For us, up in the north, in Morecombe especially, it was a lot quieter ”
Pat: “Oh yes, in London it was huge Everyone was involved We had street parties, everyone bought food, and the Newsagents were there giving out ice cream and sweets, which was a big thing actually, considering rations were still on All the kids enjoyed it ”
Pat: “There were bonfires all around London, it was a lovely way to celebrate really But what happened was the Council sent out notes to everyone saying, ‘No more bonfires please’ - the heat of the fires was breaking the tarmac in the streets! So that was the end of the bonfires.”
Helen: “Street parties seemed to be a bit more popular in those days, especially in terraced streets, where everyone got involved I suppose logistically everyone was just nearer to each other and opposite each other, so it was easier to organise ”
Ernest: “I was ten, I was at school. My abiding memory of the day is all of us being called in and told we were allowed to go home! So we had a day and a half off to celebrate!”
Bailey: “VE Day was big news for a lot of people but for at the time it was, ‘Ah that’s great Dad’s coming home Someone can do the garden now!”
Simon: “After the War, we started noticing more Polish refugees not only around York, but here in Acomb too. They were placed in prefabs pretty much as soon as the War ended. Hull Road was their first location, but then it moved further afield, including here. Lindsey Avenue was busy on that front, full of prefabs ”
REMBERING VE DAY IN GOOD COMPANY
Simon: “If you have a look at Facebook’s ‘York Born & Bred’ you can see different images of VE Day There’s a photo of Albion Avenue I know it’s Albion because my Dad’s house is on it!’
Howard: “It wasn’t actually VE Day I’m remembering at the moment, it was its 50th anniversary in 1995. We celebrated it in Lidgett School, in the playground It was a cracking day and was the start of a long hot summer.”
Howard: “Did you know that Eskimos celebrate VE Day too? There’s footage of them sat around a hole in the ice, fishing rods in their hands, singing ‘Whale meat again ’ (laughs)
Mary: “The artwork in this Hall is in my opinion superb. A lot of work has gone into it.”
Helen: “The Library Group made the Tree of Life. It’s a mosaic, and it looks wonderful, but they initially installed it outside and it just doesn't like the rain, so they got in touch with us. Our Craft & Chat group had already been making these mosaic windows made from sweet windows to echo the shape of the windows above the walls, near the ceiling, these lovely arched shapes. So they came in and installed it and it plays a big part in the decorations here.”
The image of the Church was based on the winning entry in a competition at a local Primary School. It’s made in the rag rug approach, and it took ages! Every time I popped into a charity shop I’d be looking for something I could use in the composition, a colour or material. We started in May and finished I think roundabout September time.”
The poppies for the cross. That also took quite a while! We made them out of a mixture of material, mainly wool, and we placed them on rings. They covered the cross outside, but we also brought them inside.”
“The stories were fascinating, and though some of the reasons why people started coming to the Cafe are sad, the reasons why they keep coming back are generally happy I find that inspiring ” Rowan, All Saints School, aged 15
Howard: “It’s a very relaxed social club. It doesn’t matter if you miss a few weeks, you’re very welcome as and when. Ernest here has been the latest one to join, he makes one week a month, and it’s always good to see him ”
Jeff: “It’s the company It’s very welcome, and the general banter is enjoyable We’ve all got something to talk about ”
Mervyn: “You can relate to people who are here That’s the most important thing I come from a farming background, so it’s good to talk to Ernest, who also comes from a farming background.”
Jeff: “And my father was a farm labourer. He saw plenty of changes around here He worked on Carr Farm opposite where Holy Redeemer is now, visited all the land between Boroughbridge Road and Beckfield Lane It was a different world There was very very little traffic There was only the Number 1 and Number 8 buses, I think ”
Mervyn: “My father had a small holding. He had geese, chickens, ducks In December, he’d kill the pig, and take it to Tadcaster and sell it to individuals, face to face You just don’t deal like that now, it’s a different world He’d take orders and deliver them, all face to face It was Healaugh Farm 4 miles from Tadcaster. We lived there till I was 8 years old, and then in the ‘50s it was taken over by a larger farm ”
Daniel: “I’ve been coming here a long time! In 2021 I needed to find somewhere I could do my Work Experience. So after lockdown, when Lidgett opened again, I asked and was made very welcome I started to help out with this and that, cleaning the tables, putting stuff away, and they asked me to come back So as soon as I left school in July 2022 I decided to keep coming here It was a good decision I enjoy it, I get on with everyone, and everyone I talk to is nice and friendly with plenty of good stories ”
Alan: “I come because it’s an opportunity for me to meet local people. I was talking to someone about Dijon Avenue, just down the road. It’s funny, because the first French phrase I learned when I was in France was "Un billet de train en première classe pour Dijon, s'il vous plaît "
I sat down with Mary who is very much involved with the Community Cafe and discussed the amazing Shoebox Project This is what I learned:
Shoebox projects, like Samaritan's Purse's Operation Christmas Child, involve filling shoeboxes with gifts for children in need, often in time for Christmas These projects provide a tangible way to bring joy and support to children and families facing poverty or hardship Here's how it works:
1 Gather Supplies:
Individuals, families, or groups gather items like toys, school supplies, personal care items, and other fun gifts
2 Fill the Shoebox:
These items are carefully packed into a shoebox, often with a personal touch like a handwritten note or a photo
THESHOEBOX PROJECTAT LIDGETT METHODIST CHURCH
3 Make a Donation:
A donation is often requested to cover the cost of shipping and distribution
4 Drop Off or Ship:
The filled shoebox is then dropped off at Lidgett Methodist Church Mary organises it
5 Distribution:
The people working with the project then distributes the shoeboxes to families in need
I could detail where the gifts go and gather feedback but honestly, the best thing to do is pop into Lidgett Community Cafe, ask for Mary (she’s normally on the till) and let her explain her amazing work.
It is so good to find inspirational role models who aren’t rock stars or footballers Thank you Mary
I’m going to give the last word of this digital magazine to Rev Elizabeth Cushion:
“The church and the hall are so much more than buildings, it’s the gathering of the community that really inspires me People look after each other, and it’s been great to get to know them.”
