Threads & yarns. John Northeast.

Threads and yarns

London : Wellcome Trust, 2011.

1 encoded audio file (21:03 min.) + 1 PDF transcript.

00:21:03

Wellcome Trust, 2011

Some restrictions.

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No derivatives 3.0 Unported

In English.

Interview took place on 16th May 2011

This recording is from a series of 8, which were captured by a team of interviews for the Wellcome Trust's 75th anniversary celebrations. Two day-long workshops were held at the Victoria and Albert Museum in May 2011. These were attended by seniors from the London Borough of Camden and textile design students from Central St Martin s College of Art and Design. Seniors and students worked individually to create woven flowers, whilst engaging together in conversation around the themes of health and wellbeing. These intergenerational conversations were audio recorded and formed one part of the project s narrative component. Seniors were also invited to record a story or anecdote relating to their personal experiences of health and wellbeing, in shorter one to one interviews, called Threads. These took place throughout both workshops and were recorded in a separate interviewing space. They were conducted using an oral history approach, with an emphasis on active listening and self-narration. Five of these Threads have been submitted to the Wellcome Library. The three oral history interviews submitted were carried out with seniors in the weeks following the workshops. These more extended narratives, called Yarns, were recorded by the project s Oral History Lead, using a life story approach.

John was born in 1939 in Poole, Dorset. He was born at home. John is too young to recall life before the NHS, although he does have early memories of hernia operations he had as a small child. He recalls getting measles when he was 6 or 7. When he was recovering, his mother bought him a banana and he recalls disliking it intensely. Treatment for measles was being bed-bound in the dark for 3 days. He had to wear glasses afterwards. A vivid memory is the local chemist in Poole; the pharmacy has been recreated in a local museum. He is taking Warfarin. He comments on the time it takes to get appointments. He recalls rearing chickens for Christmas. Despite appearing fit and healthy, John lists a catalogue of minor operations and procedures he has experienced over the years. He has survived TB and dengue fever. His message for the younger generation is to not take up smoking! Time end: 00:21:03:00 Length: 00:21:03:00