Orange trees & a male model
Finally launched! The People's History of Bridlington website.

A group of keen and energetic people got together to celebrate 900 years of Bridlington Priory in 2013 and put on a series of wonderful events, from a royal visit to Sailing to the Marvellous, the dramatic oratorio I wrote the words for. They called themselves Priory 900. One of their very good ideas was this website but they were so busy with the celebrations it didn't get done! So, in autumn 2014, they kindly commissioned me to put it together and, making good use of my connections from the past twelve years in my favourite Yorkshire seaside town, I've been working on it with due diligence and enjoyment, and it's finally up, with a striking and easy to use design by David Andrassy. There are 100 stories, with plenty of pictures including a set of cards of a playwright and male model who featured on Bamforth's World War I postcards and a black and white photo of the orange tree at the Workhouse that provided fresh fruit to convalescing soldiers in World War II. If you have any connection with the town, and even if you don't, I promise you'll find it engrossing for more than an hour.
I provided decorative story cards for contributors to write a paragraph about someone from their family or someone who had contributed to the history of the town, asking for items like 'a chronicle of Carnaby', 'an 'orrid tale of the Old Town', 'my granny the hockey hero of Bridlington' and 'my ancestor and the lifeboat'. Many of the stories were collected as a response to history and writing sessions in schools and libraries. I also enjoyed collecting stories at an Avon Party, a residential home for people with dementia and a Christmas tree fair! I'm sure some poems will come from the fascinating material, especially that orange tree...
