Prestwick Rotary Club – Nostalgia Cases

Five members of our friends at Prestwick Rotary Club came along to our meeting this week to inform and amuse us with their “nostalgia cases”. This brilliant idea was the brainchild of the Prestwick club as a means of stimulating memories of the past in the minds of local care home residents. The term “nostalgia” was preferred to “memory” so as not to infer failing memories and each case contains a wonderful and varied selection of items and memorabilia from times gone by.

Each of the five tables was provided with a small, leather suitcase from which the many items were drawn and passed round the table for examination and discussion. All in all, dozens of items were drawn from the cases and these included, for example an AA motor car badge, a leather sporran, tins (empty) of sweeties, indigestion tablets etc, reprinted editions of wartime newspapers, old kitchenware, and many other items too numerous to list. All this while accompanied by the dull, scratchy music of fifty years ago emanating from a still-working Dansette record player.

In no time at all the dining room was filled with chatter and laughter as members reminisced about their own experiences of using such items. Many amusing anecdotes were dredged up from the past and recounted to the listeners. These were as varied as the Look & Learn “improvement” comics ( not as desirable as the Beano/Dandy/Wizard/Topper/Hotspur etc etc), mods and rockers, drainpipe trousers, the domestic dangers of paraffin heaters and many more recollections.

Secretary Bob Cherry thanked the Prestwick members for a hugely entertaining evening.