Christopher and Lee giving a speech

Christopher and Lee did their first project, whilst in Year 10 at Oaklands School.

"We have done three projects with Magic Me, where the old people from the Sundial Centre come to see us once a week. The first project was to design your own Calendar, Ages and Stages. We'd get together in little groups to think about different stages in life and how we might represent them in a Calendar, like for example learning to drive. We took one step at a time and took our time to make sure that everything looked good and neat. We were always given the time to make sure everything was done properly. That was the first time we worked with older people", says Lee. Intergenerational work can be hard work. It requires careful preparation and skilled practitioners to lead both age groups. Often the two generations are wary of one another. Lee confesses "at first I thought, what am I doing here?" "We were shy at first, less confident! Christopher explains. "But the way it evolved", Lee continues, "at first you think to yourself: Oh older people! They are going to be too moany, keep bossing you around and telling you what to do. But when we actually came together, they enjoyed working with us because we were understanding. They could understand us and we could understand them."

After Ages and Stages, Christopher and Lee then went on to do Feast! a cooking project in 2009, "Feast! was more practical, and Ages and Stages involved more planning. I enjoyed both projects a lot but preferred Ages and Stages. I liked making the Calendar and the fact that other people got to see it. I have put it on my C.V. I study performing arts so I really liked acting out the different scenes" Christopher explains.

This year they did their last project, Live Long, Live Well, Live Life! a lifeskills and cooking project, where they explored photography and film. "By the third project we knew the older people quite well because we had had two years of experience working together", says Lee. Both of them helped to get other young people from their new college, Cambridge Heath 6th Form, excited.

"When we went to college and they said we were going to start a project with older people our friends said: ‘Why are we working with old people? It’s going to be boring’. I said: ‘Well you can say that now, but you wait until you start working with them. You are going to say it’s boring, but you wait and see what it’s like. You will probably say to yourself, by the end of it, that it was a really good opportunity’".

So how did the new students feel after doing Magic Me? “I think they have changed their minds. They keep telling me how much they enjoyed the project and how they wish it had gone on for longer.” But what about the older people? “I think they have changed their opinion. When we first started working with them, they did say to us that we were a nice bunch of lads to work with and that they really enjoyed it. “

Often people interested in Magic Me’s work are keen to know whether the young and older people stay in touch after projects. "“I met Vi at the bus stop the other day, as I was on my way down to my local theatre group. And we chatted for a while. She told me she’d just been to bingo", says Christopher.

I was keen to find out what they had learned from the older people, what they would take with them from the project in years to come.

"The experience we have had with older people", says Lee thoughtfully. "Helping them out. Teaching them. On the day of the celebration of Live Long, I was talking to Vince (an older person) and he said he was really pleased with the way it went. For me to get up there and give a speech in front of 50 people was an achievement and he said I should be proud of myself. In the first year I felt really nervous to get up in front of people, but since I’ve done the projects my confidence has gone up and I have been able to talk to people properly."

"When I first started", says Christopher "I used to get really nervous as well, but then I just kept getting better and better week after week just by talking to them (the older people). By the second year I already had a lot of confidence. Then this year my confidence seems at its best. I am able to talk to the public which I couldn’t have done before."

My overall sense is that without Magic Me they would not be as confident and outgoing as they are now. The older people have done a fantastic job of being encouraging and supportive of their development. And most importantly what really shines through when they talk about their experiences is the care and affection they feel towards the older people they have worked with through the years. But why try and explain it when Lee puts it across so eloquently:

"I would say that Magic Me is a success. It is good that everybody is getting involved, not just one group but different ages. Because in life you are going to get old soon, and working with the older people you can try to understand what they are going through and they understand what teenagers are going through. I think we should all be proud of what we have done over the last three years. Everyone should be proud of what they have achieved."

Clea House,Community and Communications Manager