“I never met my great grandmother Nora, but she hovers around the edges of my mother’s memory. A tiny woman, she died when my mam was about 7. She remembers her baby teeth coming out at the time. Nora’s story is woven into the landscape that you travel through from Darlington to Bishop Auckland on the train.”
In summer 2017, a team from Hannah Bruce & Co and commissioners, Luxi, spent time travelling the route and chatting to local people about their lives and family memories, and those brilliant stories went into the creation of a script. Hannah and her collaborators mixed it into an audio story which was designed to be listened to through headphones on the Bishop Line train from Darlington to Bishop Auckland.
Our Line, is a story of a modern day project to find out more about the family members of the past and how the railways changed the lives of families in the area. It’s inspired by the fond memories and family legends collected from local people.
During the pandemic when train travel was only for essential journeys, Our Line was amended to enable it to be accessed from home and we encouraged listeners to take time out of their busy lives to use Our Line as a mindfulness tool.
To listen to Our Line please visit the www.our-line.net.
In 2022 we are taking Our Line Connections out to our communities to spark memories, creativity and connections. Look out for updates on www.our-line.net soon.
