Eden Valley Messenger

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO HELP RECORD HAY TIME HISTORIES

THE search is on for good listeners – and good typists – to record the fascinating stories of working in the North Pennines hay meadows in days gone by.

Willing volunteers are being offered the opportunity to be involved in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Partnership’s Hay Time project, listening to and transcribing the captivating stories of retired farmers, as they tell their tales from haytime in the past.

The Hay Time project was launched in 2006, with the aim of restoring hay meadows to their former botanical richness and increasing people’s awareness, understanding and enjoyment of this important habitat. An important part of this process is recording how the hay meadows used to be managed.

Neil Diment, Hay Time Community Officer, said: “Although the artefacts and photographs can remain in good condition for a long time, people’s memories are fragile.” With this in mind, Neil recorded interviews with 20 retired farmers to learn about how hay was managed in the days when most of the work was still done by hand or with horses.

Described as “ordinary people who have lived extraordinary lives” – or in some cases “extraordinary people who have lived ordinary lives” – at first some interviewees could not understand why Neil was so interested in, what to them, was ordinary field labour. But after their initial reluctance, they agreed to meet him to discuss their work, and the importance of hay in the farming year. Then the stories would start to roll!

Beamish Museum agreed to archive the recordings and make the farmers’ memories available to the public, but the interviews still need to be written down – a vital part of the project which will have many uses.

Neil said: “Volunteers can get involved by transcribing these invaluable conversations and helping make the stories and memories more widely available to the public. We’re looking for people with reasonably good typing and listening skills, and a computer to work with from at home.”

Neil added: “Not only are these stories fascinating to listen to but once transcribed, they will be made available in a number of different ways, all of which will not be possible without the help of eager volunteers. For example, the interviews will be accessible for anyone to read on the internet. We will be able to use quotes from them in our ‘History of Hay Time’ exhibition, which is planned to take place next summer in Allendale, and also in the souvenir-style book we will produce to accompany the exhibition.

“These stories deserve and need to be out there,” said Neil Diment. “I’m sure other people will find this project just as fascinating as I have.”

Another AONB Partnership Community Interpretation Officer Abi Wylde, working on the Partnership’s Living North Pennines project, would also like to enlist volunteers to record other aspects of life in the AONB. People interested in becoming volunteers can contact Neil Diment or Abi Wylde on 01388 528801.