Inspiring Olympic Legacy ‘Team’

Museums and Galleries - June Carr

June Carr from Ashton is hoping people will be inspired to dust off their dancing shoes and re-discover a love of tap dancing.

Tameside’s museums and galleries service offers tap dancing workshops at Central Art Gallery, a regular session that June attends.

June is retired and has tap danced all her life and goes along to the tap dancing workshops, funded by Tameside’s Older People’s Partnership (POPPS) as she loves dancing and enjoys the exercise.

She says: “It’s great to dance at the art gallery as it’s an inspiring, friendly and welcoming environment. Plus the added bonus is being able to see stunning artwork I may not have seen otherwise.”

Tameside Countryside Service - Brian Wigley

Brian Wigley has been a volunteer for Tameside’s countryside service for over 30 years. He joined the team after coming on some guided walks and finding out about the sort of work the Rangers did.

He’s now hoping he can inspire people to get out and about and explore Tameside’s countryside.

Brian says: “I was inspired way back in 1979 by the friendliness of the then chief Ranger, who encouraged me to join as a volunteer”

And now, 30 years later, often with his wife Anne of 54 years Brian can still be found helping with conservation work, surveying local sites, or helping out at countryside events…what a legacy!

Nowadays Brian takes inspiration from all rangers and fellow volunteers, who bring something special to the team. Whether it is specialist knowledge or skills, or just enthusiasm and encouragement.

Brian reckons his 30 years of countryside volunteering have kept him physically and mentally ‘Young at Heart’

Libraries - Gay Oliver

Gay Oliver volunteers at the Local Studies and Archive Centre in Ashton and is hoping that her past experiences will inspire people to see how volunteering can change their lives.

Gay says: “In 1996 I was forced to take early retirement on health grounds, severe anxiety and stress and associated depression, I was becoming housebound verging on agoraphobia. I was determined to become useful and better again, and so after a while, I decided to research my family history and started by visiting the Local Studies Library at Stalybridge. I was inspired by the quiet calm atmosphere and the friendly staff and all the positive help and encouragement they gave me. I find it hard to believe the journey I've travelled since then. Life is now so full and rewarding.”

“Whilst researching my own family history I also started to attend local history classes. I firmly believe that you can't research family history without a knowledge of local and national events and that family history empowers people to learn history from the bottom up. I now run several family/local history websites, I head up a family history group on Tameside and for four years now I have been teaching others how to research their own family history. I also co-edit a magazine for our local history forum. Some of my ex students are now volunteering in helping me to run very popular, regular help sessions in Tameside Local Studies and Archives Centre. They have also completed some very excellent projects about their own families to pass down to future generations.

“This has been a long journey which has benefited me tremendously, and I hope that I am passing on my own enthusiasm to others. The social and community benefits of attending classes, volunteering and continuing to learn new skills can have such a positive impact in countering social isolation and giving people absorbing interests to follow, it can't be understated.

“I am most inspired by people who volunteer to help others and those who go the extra mile in all walks of life, having a positive effect on the lives they touch.”

Arts and Events - Christine Clough

Christine Clough is an active member of the Tameside Local History forum, she hopes that by discovering the past people will be inspired to keep local history alive for future generations through celebratory events and clubs and societies.

Christine says: “I am inspired by a passion for history, getting things done, making new ideas happen, talking to people, listening to ideas and suggestions and other people’s passions.”

“I have been inspired by the way that the Tameside Local History Forum & Friends of Gorse Hall has blossomed doing things that everyone else thought couldn’t be done, asking other people to get involved, bringing people together with the same interests and then seeing the successes."

“I’d like to think that I have inspired other people to do things they perhaps wouldn’t have done. To see the Forum as it is now going out worldwide, what comes back, the contacts and information. The satisfaction of the Stamford Estate papers being put into Local Studies, for all to see, eventually, these are great achievements that will benefit lots of people. And it’s great to see the individuals and volunteers who have become part of the Forum develop personally by getting involved.”