A crowd-sourced history project shows us how 'ordinary' stories are just as fascinating as the famous ones - and everyone can join in.

1. Celebrating grandmothers – a modern history project
Sometimes things gain traction without any apparent
effort. An idea or movement so obviously right and
attractive that people just join in and, thanks to social
media, it all snowballs. And so it is with The Grantidote,
appearing in your browser, your Twitter feed, Facebook
and everywhere else. It’s still quite small but it’s
growing fast and, most importantly, it is grabbing
people’s attention because it’s a simple but wonderful
idea; people sharing stories of their grandmothers.
The Grantidote was started by Scottish writer
@betamother when she was told by a friend that ‘there
are more statues of animals in Edinburgh than there are
of women’. In Edinburgh along with everywhere else,
historically women have been relegated to the
background, either because they were unable to take a
leading role (generals, politicians, and so on) or because
their achievements were seen as inferior and
unimportant. More generally, ordinary people of either
gender tend to remain under the radar, known only to
those in their immediate circle.
The Grantidote is a way to celebrate these ‘ordinary’
women by encouraging their friends and relatives (not
just granddaughters) to recall what they can of them,
both factually and emotionally. There may be huge
gaps in the narrative, especially in the early life of the
subject, but a sense of the women portrayed, of their
place in the world and in their families, comes across so
clearly. The stories, a small but growing collection,
already cover a fascinating range of women, with tales
of international roots, bereavement, insanity,
naughtiness, adventure, and, most of all, love. By
writing about their grandmothers, the authors are
bringing these women into the light, where, of course,
they shine.
The recent trend for creating a history of the everyday –
also evidenced in BBC Radio’s Listening Project – is
allowing us to develop a wonderful resource which also
contributes to the common good. The more we know
about each other, the harder it is to be fearful and
distrustful. The more we know about each other, the
easier it is to find common ground. The more we know
about each other the closer we grow. The vast majority
of the Grandmothers in The Grantidote pages are dead
and the stories are a kind of memorial from their loving
descendants but, most of all, they are a celebration of
individual, wonderful ‘ordinary’ women.
https://www.thegrantidote.com/
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