Suzanne Askham

Wellbeing notes: Your own, curated history is amazing

There’s a new and friendly group that meets at Chippenham Library every week. It’s called the Thursday Club, and I’ve been privileged to be there, helping out. People of all different ages sit around a table on the ground floor, just by the main door, discussing times past and present over a cup of tea or coffee. 

Every week there’s a theme. Last week’s, for example, was ‘Schools’. All manner of memories – and damning school reports! – were swapped. The week before, the theme was fashion history. One of the things I love most is when people bring in documents, clothes and photos. Some of the ephemera are from our own lifetimes; some are from our forebears’. 

And here’s what I’ve discovered: in a world of dizzying change, it’s therapeutic to look back on how things used to be. Keeping and sharing a small, curated collection from your own family history can help to remind you where you’re from and where you’re going. Last week, for example, I shared documents from my bookish, suffragette great grandmother, Maggie Bevan. In the process, it dawned on me how much she quietly influenced me. And I said a silent ‘thank you’ to her memory. 

When you think back over your own family history, who, or what, helped you to be the person you are today?The Thursday Club meets at 10.30am in Chippenham Library on Thursday mornings. It’s free, and new members are always welcome. Just turn up – there may even be cake!