The Housing Executive

The talk included stories of school days, family life and first jobs. The pupils were given a chance to ask questions and discovered how much the seniors enjoyed their school days despite the punishments often handed out for what now seem like minor misdemeanors.

The pupils were also brave enough to ask the seniors if they have any problems with the younger generation. They were pleased to hear that the experiences were in the most part good, although the seniors would like to see the return of good old fashioned manners such as giving up your seat on the bus or holding doors open.  

The lessons are part of the ‘Our Community’ project which runs over a number of weeks and covers a range of subjects from the citizenship spectrum of the school curriculum. The lessons include the role of the police, environmental awareness, vandalism, anti-social behaviour, disability awareness and inter-generational storytelling.

The ‘Our Community’ lessons are part of our Social Education Project, in partnership with the PSNI, Derry City Council Community Safety Partnership, Disability Equality Action, Creggan Country Park, Rathmor 50+ Club, COSY Club, and Northside 50+ Club.

Our Social Education Officer Patrick Duddy said, “The inter-generational lessons always receive a great reception in the schools with the pupils really enjoying the chance to hear how much things have changed; the seniors also really enjoy the experiences and always have so many stories to share.

'Last of the Summer Wine’ founding member Norman Lyttle stated, “Our group really enjoys the school visits as much as the pupils seem to. The men love the opportunity to share their experiences and hopefully afterwards the pupils will see that there is much more to the older generation than they first realized. 'Last of the Summer Wine’ is an informal social club for senior men which meets in Irish Street Community Centre from 2.00pm – 4.00pm on a Friday afternoon and new members are always welcome.”