Hesleden chapel (pictured above) was very busy throughout the whole event, which started at 10am and lasted until 3pm, as residents and visitors gathered together in the Sunday School room to reminisce about village life in times gone by, and also discuss the merits of the History Group's proposals over a cup of tea or coffee and a cake.
A member of the East Durham Area Action Partnership (AAP) was there to help with enquiries and to guide people through the proposals which could lead to the erection of a war memorial at a chosen location in Hesleden. A large-scale map was provided to enable residents to identify their preferred site, and a record was kept of everyone who opted to make comments and leave their contact details for future reference.
The History Group had also put on a photographic display in the chapel itself, and this jogged many memories and generated much discussion about who the faces from our past were, and what had happened to them - and as is usual in a place like Hesleden our family trees expanded and blossomed in just one short day as we talked ourselves related to almost the entire village!
As often happens with public events of this nature the open day also doubled as a kind of impromptu ward surgery and many residents from Blackhall and Hesleden took the opportunity to talk to us about a wide range of local issues - and we'll be reporting on progress in due course on some of those matters raised.
We will meet again next week with members of the History Group to trawl through the information gathered, and then recommend a way forward in line with the wishes of the people of Hesleden.
We will update on progress at regular intervals with this project. So watch this space.
