It has been an utter joy and privilege to have been involved with the 1001 Stories project as a story gatherer!

I’ve met so many different, interesting and inspiring groups and individuals and, as someone of a younger generation, it has been fascinating to hear storytellers bringing to life aspects of various periods and events of which I have no personal experience, as well as hearing how they have navigated the journey of aging and experiencing major life changes, both negative and positive – including discovering new interests and talents later in life!

I have laughed and cried on several occasions and feel very blessed that so many people have entrusted me with, and treated me to, their stories.

Here are a few of the highlights which spring to mind:

· Going on a couple of home visits after meeting two of the storytellers at a talk at which the organisers had allowed me to say a few words about 1001 Stories at the start. As they had to dash off afterwards but lived near to each other, I arranged to visit them both on another day. It was so nice to be welcomed into their homes, to see their personalities and interests reflected in the way they had decorated (e.g. the art and family photos on their walls) and to have a cuppa and a chat before recording their stories.

· Developing my networks with community groups in Horsforth (where I live) which gave me a real sense of pride and belonging, as well as discovering and visiting other groups further afield.

· Combining my story gathering duties with my musical skills and interests as a community music worker, e.g.:

· Attending ukulele groups in Meanwood, Bramley and Pudsey where I joined in with the singing and playing before gathering stories. The tutors even invited me to share one of my own humorous songs, which we learned and played as a group – a real privilege for me!

· Running a session for the Kirkstall Abbey 1152 Club (history and heritage talks for people aged 55 and over), at which I shared three of my own songs inspired by personal experiences on potential themes for stories, e.g. trying new things later in life…and the relief of not feeling the pressure to be any good at them! I also recited some of the stories I had already gathered on related themes, and then invited the audience to share their own stories with the group. It worked really well and I particularly enjoyed being able to share some of the stories I had previously gathered, which was also a good way of demonstrating to other potential storytellers that stories could be short, simple and on any topic.

· The catch-up meetings at the Playhouse with members of the project team (who I can’t praise highly enough!) and other story gatherers – these were so useful, enjoyable and invigorating.

· The launch of the festival and having the opportunity to put forward two storytellers to share their stories on the night:

– One was Brian Sugden, who had submitted two poems along with two beautiful songs inspired by his late wife, and with whom I’d spent a lovely afternoon singing with a friend’s community choir. As a confident performer with a wonderful rich voice, I knew he was keen to perform during the festival, so it was brilliant to be able to offer that opportunity and to watch him sing one of his songs to such a large, receptive and appreciative audience.

– The other was Debbie Evans, who had told me two funny stories set at the Playhouse, including one about performing there – perfect to recite at that very same venue! At 93, she still performs locally and is a shining example of how to keep living life to the full – and she also lives in Horsforth, so we were able to travel to the Playhouse together after a cuppa and catch-up at hers. It was a real honour attending the event with her, and wonderful to witness the constant stream of people coming over to compliment her after she recited her story like the true performer she is – and the fact that we were the last to leave the Playhouse that evening (many thanks to the project team for providing a taxi home) was further evidence of her energy and enthusiasm! It was also lovely to be able to film the performance and send it to her son afterwards (who was delighted and shared it with the rest of the family), along with a brilliant image taken by photographer David Lindsay which really captured the vibrancy of her personality and performance – see below.

Debbie Evans onstage at the 1001 Stories Takeover, photograph taken by David Lindsay

As I said in an email to the project team afterwards: “What an amazing and inspirational evening that was! Hugely joyous, welcoming and inclusive – and I don’t think it could have been any more successful in celebrating and showcasing the wonderful talent, achievements and diversity of Leeds’ older community. I also didn’t think I could love the song ‘I Want To Break Free’ any more…until I witnessed Edwin (who performed a burlesque routine to the Queen classic) owning the stage to it! Just wonderful – everyone involved should be incredibly proud.”

I certainly felt that my story gathering abilities improved over time, including being better able to put people at ease and to reassure them that they absolutely did have something worth contributing and of value to the project, despite the oft-heard claim: “I don’t have anything of interest to tell.” I also found it very helpful that a large number of stories had already been published on the 1001 Stories website, giving us real examples with which to demonstrate that the project welcomed and celebrated stories of all kinds, and that no story was too short or too simple.

I obviously wanted to reach as many people and collect as many stories as possible, and in the end I exceeded my own hopes and expectations by gathering 136 stories. However, I really appreciated the fact that no pressure was placed upon us to reach a specific target – we were simply encouraged and supported in a lovely way. This meant that on visits where I only gathered a small number of stories, I didn’t feel like I had wasted project money – it was clear that the project team recognised and valued that the connections and conversations we were having were all worthwhile, even if they didn’t all culminate in getting permission to share a story.

This was particularly appreciated on three story-gathering afternoons spent at St James’s Hospital. While the visits did enable me to record and submit stories from 13 patients, they had a wider impact as I also spent time talking to others who didn’t wish to share their stories publicly. I was particularly touched by a 45-minute conversation with one woman who told us she had been at the hospital for four years. She was tearful at first, but she then opened up to share a fascinating and extraordinarily detailed account of her time training to be a radiographer as a young woman in South Africa during apartheid. I also took my guitar and played some feelgood covers to patients and staff on the wards – ‘Sweet Caroline’ got people singing along, as always!

Afterwards I shared the stories with the wonderful Masako Kondo, the Trainee Advanced Clinical Practitioner who acted as my chaperone on the wards after very kindly undertaking the considerable administration and paperwork required to get approval for me to visit. She really championed the project and, in inviting me to the hospital, had been keen to give a voice to people who might not otherwise have heard about it or had the confidence or opportunity to get involved. She has given me permission to share these lovely words from her email reply after I sent her the stories:

· “I am going to share the stories with my colleagues, as it shows that how we see our older patients in the hospital does not capture a fraction of who they are as a person with all the life stories that are like hidden gems covered in the dust.”

After my first visit, Masako also asked me for a quote about my experience to publish in the hospital’s internal newsletter, along with the photo below that she took of me with storytellers Margaret and David Stead, which may be of interest to share here too:

· “It was a real pleasure and privilege to have the opportunity to meet patients in the unit, to connect with them, and to hear their stories. As I’ve found elsewhere, people’s initial reaction is often to say that they don’t have anything interesting to share. However, all stories are valuable and valued: a childhood memory, a funny little anecdote, a poem, or even just a thought or comment expressed in one or two sentences – they all take us closer to our goal of 1001 while providing a range of voices, subject matter and experiences. During our conversations that day, it was wonderful to see patients opening up as they recounted their memories, and to enjoy shared moments of laughter and surprise at funny and unexpected turns in their tales. I also hope that having the chance to tell their stories, and to be listened to, might have helped change their belief that their stories wouldn’t be of interest to anyone else.”

Nicky Bray with storytellers Margaret and David Stead, photograph taken by Masako Kondo

As well as officially turning me into a story gatherer (my favourite job title ever!), I feel like being involved in 1001 Stories has also enabled me to develop other skills which have made me a better and more confident practitioner, as well as widening my networks and leading to other lovely and creative work opportunities.

If there is one thing I would do differently next time, it would be to avoid leaving the bulk of the transcribing (of stories recorded in person) until the last moment. However, on the other hand it was useful to have a bit of emotional distance to facilitate the task of shortening those which significantly exceeded the advised maximum length, as the personal nature of the stories and the privilege of having heard them in person made it difficult to have to leave out some of their words.

Thank you so much for giving me this wonderful opportunity and experience. This has been one of the best projects in which I’ve been involved since going freelance as a community music worker four years ago – I have loved every minute of helping collate, share and celebrate the true stories of Leeds’ amazing older community!

Nicky Bray, 11 June 2023

Nicky Bray is a freelance musician and community music worker. She works with a range of non profit organisations and runs a number of participatory community music events including songwriters’ night Tower Of Song (with Carl Flattery), which celebrates its 10th birthday this year, and the Risk A Verse feelgood communal singalong night (with Dan Akers).