By Jill Stocks
The M and S Travelling Suitcase paid a visit to MHA Communities Horsforth last week and there was a full house at the Central Methodist Church on Town Street to experience the nostalgic afternoon.
The Travelling Suitcase travels the city visiting community and care groups and contains a variety of items from the Marks and Spencer archive, including garments from the 1930s onwards, giving the audience the chance to relive fashion from the past.
Led by Briony Spandler, Community Outreach Activities Facilitator for the M and S archive, the suitcase showcased items from 1980’s oven gloves to 1950’s rock and roll dancing skirts, party dresses from across the decades, and of course a selection of under garments from down the years!
The afternoon began with a brief history of Marks and Spencer, who famously started as the Penny Bazaar in Leeds Kirkgate Market before eventually opening its first department store on Briggate, and several of the ladies in the audience remembered their employment for M and S.
They were then treated to the selection of garments and items from the suitcase and Briony told attendees more about the concept.
“The Travelling Suitcase is a community outreach offering from the Marks and Spencers archive,” she said. “It’s free for community groups particularly those which are memory cafes, dementia friendly groups, care homes and different care settings.
“It’s just a small selection of things that we bring from the archive. Different touchpoints from over the decades really.”
Carol Shaw, MHA volunteer and Dementia Friend, organised the event.
She said: “How this started was because I was helping at a memory cafe at the Grove and I saw Briony come with the suitcase.
“Immediately I thought I know which group of people will like this so it was in my mind to come here and ask the staff and i spoke to Liz and Nicky and said can I help to organise the travelling suitcase and we got it organised for today.
“We had over 30 people attend today. It’s totally amazing.”
Nicky Morris is one of the co-ordinators at MHA Communities Horsforth and supported Carol in organising the event.
“It’s been greatly appreciated and greatly enjoyed. One lady saying what a blast from the past seeing the underwear!”
The audience also had the chance to try some of the garments on.
The M and S archive is situated on the Western Campus of the University of Leeds in the Michael Marks building. It is free to visit and is open Monday to Friday 10am to 4pm and the second Saturday of every month.
Over 72,000 items including documents, clothing and packaging, make the collection a history of both the company and of the social and fashion history of the country.
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