Nina told us how she first became aware of the importance of recording family memories at the funeral of her grandmother when she realised how much knowledge of her grandmother's life had been lost. Our memories are important personal legacies but unless they are in some way recorded, most of them are lost forever. Her business, Memory Lane Life Stories, specialises in making audio recordings of people’s life memories. This professional service, which is available for a fee, delivers high-quality, edited recordings. But Nina explained that we can also make these recordings ourselves, using everyday equipment such as smart phones and tablets. Some of the pointers she gave us were:

• who is to be involved and who the recording is for
• record in a quiet place
• introduce the speaker, the place and the time
• ask open questions to elicit full responses

Nina also recommended the book 'The Essential Questions: Interview Your Family to Uncover Stories and Bridge Generations' by Elizabeth Keating (Penguin Random House). As part of their service, Memory Lane can also supply a set of question cards to assist with interviewing. Memory Lane will shortly release a series of podcasts titled ‘When I was Young'.

Share this with your friends