I called it “Tattingstone – This Moment in Time”, the Suffolk Archives people called it “Recording Life in Lockdown” but what’s in a name because it amounted to much the same thing and I am very proud to say that several images from Tattingstone are now on show in an exhibition in the brand new archive and heritage building on Ipswich Waterfront called The Hold. Most of what you gave me I submitted for consideration so it amounted to quite a lot for the exhibition team to choose from.
Nevertheless with input from all over the county it was really good to see our village so well represented. I think the icing on the cake was the video of the Covid19 Heath Band playing and singing “I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles” shown on a screen on the wall. Considering it was filmed on a hand me down mobile phone, the quality was surprisingly good! There was also a lovely photo of Liz and Kirstie from the band and one of the many Ofsted ratings that Anna posted on The Wheatsheaf door clearly telling us what Harriet thought of home schooling!
The exhibition called Global Events looks at how the people of Suffolk have responded to three major events in fairly recent history – WW2, the Cold War and the Covid19 pandemic. It is on until 10 January 2021. https://www.suffolkarchives.co.uk/exhibitions/global-events-suffolk-stories/ The Hold replaces the old Record Office in Gatacre Road and it simply couldn’t be more different. It is a large bright modern space and will showcase the heritage of our County as well as offering more modern archive research facilities (although it will be a little longer before the records are moved in). Some funding came from the National Heritage Lottery Fund and part of the deal was for Suffolk Archives to work with members of the community more through research to discover and share stories of the past. And as an aside that is how the “Hidden Histories of Alton Water” telephone box came to be. Thank you to all of you who contributed to this project. Jane Kirk Village Recorder 01473 328328/07974 455927