Lucy

ALT Quote from Linda on graphic reads: "“She was in her nineties and uses an adapted wheelchair. We began the session by throwing beanbags into hula hoops laid on the floor. She was fully involved, taking her turn and encouraging her teammates. “Then I brought out our Replay Cards. “One showed children riding homemade go-karts. When I shared it, her eyes sparkled. She remembered her brothers building their own from old pram wheels, bits of wood and lengths of washing line. That one picture opened up a whole conversation.

ALT Quote from Linda on graphic reads: "“Her brothers had taught her to play cricket in the street. When she got to school, she discovered those skills were rather useful in rounders too. She went on to captain her school team and remembered playing in a tournament at Leeds Children’s Day. From there, she took me into her childhood home: a small back-to-back in Leeds, shared with her parents and a large family of brothers and sisters. “She remembered sharing beds, blackleading the kitchen stove, donkey-stoning the doorstep and fetching coal from the coal-hole outside. She described the cold trip across the yard to the outside toilet, complete with spiders, and the weekly tin bath in front of the fire, filled with water heated on the stove.

ALT Final quote from Linda reads: "“What stayed with me was the happiness with which she told these stories. She smiled throughout, her eyes twinkling as she remembered the games, the chores and the bustle of family life. “Our conversation had travelled a long way from sport. A picture of a homemade go-kart had given us a starting point, and time spent listening had allowed so much more to unfold. “I left the care home feeling richer for having met Annie and heard a little of her life. “For me, that conversation captures something worth celebrating for Sporting Memories’ 15th birthday: the connections that can grow from a game, a familiar image and an opportunity to share.”

ALT Dunston Club pose for pictures holding pom poms in hands