Luton audio 'time capsule' brings town's stories to life - BBC

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Two women listening to an audio story in Luton

At a glance

Luton's Museum of Stories includes 12 audio tales about the Bury Park area
They have created a "time capsule" of the diverse town, organisers said
Organised tours involving the tales are taking place for Heritage Open Days

Alex Pope

BBC News, Bedfordshire

19 minutes ago

A new audio walking tour has been created, giving a "time capsule" of "incredible" stories from a diverse town.

Luton's Museum of Stories is an audio walk featuring 12 dramas about real-life experiences and memories from the Bury Park area.

Co-producer Fin Kennedy, from Applied Stories, hoped it would "increase footfall and highlight Dunstable Road's unique independent High Street".

Organised tours will take place from Monday to Saturday during Heritage Open Days week.

Mr Kennedy, who co-produced the project with Shemiza Rashid, said: "These incredible stories showcase the independent spirit of those overlooked places. It's a citizen empowerment project."

The Museum of Stories: Bury Park tales, that can be downloaded off app stores, range from five minutes to 15 minutes each, and can be listened to individually or in a 90-minute walk.

They include stories about the 19th Century founder of Bury Park, an optician who moved to the area from Pakistan for her own safety, the thriving Jewish community in the 1950s, and the National Front marches and local resistance movements of the 1980s.

"It's a time capsule of now, but we can add to it. We don't have a Luton FC story, we don't have an Irish story, yet," said Mr Kennedy.

People listening to an audio tour of Bury Park in Luton

Jacqueline Edelstein's story, A Leap into Faith, explains how her parents from different countries and backgrounds met and "saved" each other.

"The concept really captured my imagination and it brought back so many fond memories of growing up in Luton with my family," she said.

A man listening to an audio story on a bench in Luton

Luton's "Deadpool", who has become famous in the town for dressing as the Marvel character and doing various community work anonymously, said the tour was "truly inspirational".

He said Luton had "been through a lot throughout the years, and now I feel like we are finally standing tall and representing our town for the awesome place it is".