Finally, with just 3 days to spare before Christmas our project book ‘Worcester Life Stories – in the words of local people’ arrived. We are very pleased to share that the first print run has been so well received that we are almost sold out! Our second edition is with the printers as we speak and will be available from the Tourist Information Centre, Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum and Tudor House Museum at £19.99. Here’s one local lady’s review of the book:
“Just the cover of this book was enough to draw me into it – an intriguing photo of a smartly dressed lady and a man sitting on a wall, outside of a building in a lost part of the city…. Who were these people? Why are they there? And where exactly are they?
Going through the book there are many interesting stories accompanying the photos, photos of everyday people doing everyday things – photos of buildings which look familiar, but also different to how they are now; it made me question even more why these buildings were altered and in some cases, completely destroyed, The Blockhouse area being of particular interest to me having had family members live in that area. The Blockhouse is now vastly different to how it was in times gone by, and it was so interesting to see and read about the massive changes in that area.
And it isn’t just photos of buildings and people – a photo which bought back some very personal memories was of the park, and in particular the massive slide at Lansdowne Park where I spent many a happy hour as a child- I had never seen a photograph of the park before, as it was vastly altered in the early 90’s to a more colourful and somewhat safer play park (some may say far more boring too!!)
This book is a treasure. It covers topics not discussed in many other books about Worcester and the photos in it, along with the stories accompanying them, are fascinating and in some cases very poignant. The story of the lady who had no pictures of her father who had died when she was very young and the subsequent unearthing of a picture of him was incredibly moving.
I would love a second volume of this book if at all possible- it is a work of great importance to the history and social history of Worcester, every Worcester resident with even a tiny amount of interest in the area they live in should read it!!!”
We hope you enjoy the book as much as this lady did!
Worcester Life Stories 