Project ID: 652
| Description | The Listening Bench on Southend Pier is intended for people to sit and at the press of a button learn about Southend and its people |
| Topics | Social history Reminiscence |
| Type | U3A-led research (SLP) |
| U3A | Thorpe Bay U3A Southend Network Leigh Estuary U3A Southend U3A Leigh on sea U3A Southend Area U3As |
| Organization/partner | Essex Records Office, Sound Archive, National Lottery funded project |
| Year started | 2017 |
| Source of reference | www.essexsounds.org.uk/content/category/benches |
| Output | The recording panel on the bench is solar powered and will last for some years. It is hoped to carry out another project to record U3A members memories so that the recording can be updated. It is also possible to find out how many times the button has been pressed to ascertain public usage. |
| Notes | This was a project involving volunteers from 4 Southend area U3As. 10 members listened to many hours of recordings from the Sound Archive and selected sound bites. 4 members then learned how to use Audacity software to edit the material and add it to the recording apparatus on the bench. They also recorded introductions and instructions. |