This weekend we have been visiting @MorleyArtsFestival with our tea trolley.

This friendly local festival was based along Queen Street and down towards the park filled with free public art, performances and family activities.

We talked with lots of people over the weekend, both Morley locals and visitors. The visitors that had travelled furthest was a couple from Hong Kong, who were in Morley visiting their daughter and grandchildren.

Here’s a slice of some of the things we talked about over the weekend…

If you had a special talent, what would it be?

Very popular was teleportation from many Morley folk. I mean, why not? We talked about lunch in New York, a seaside trip to a thailand beach and no impact/ pollution on the environment. One Morley resident said that it was a question their child had often asked them growing up , and the the answer they had always given was teleportation and time travel.

What do you love to do?

A few answers…

Knitting.

Learning about local history ( especially gruesome events).

I love playing volleyball – especially working out the plays that the other teams are doing. Some players can be quite sneaky… you have to watch what their feet and shoulders to see how they are going to hit. You know its like at school when you played rounders and there was always that one kid that was left handed but held the bat in the right hand until the last minute then caught you off guard.

Swimming. I love swimming. We journey from Middleton every Saturday to Morley Leisure Centre to swim. Being able to swim is so important and Morley has such a lovely pool.

Climb – I love climbing. Its really good fun & fitness, and a bit scary. You have to trust your partner literally with your life, which is incredible if you really think about it’s.

What is most important?

My health. I mean, Im 72, my health matters to me.

What is normal?

Normal? Well one person’s normal is different to another’s. Stuff like kindness and respect were just givens but I guess different folks have different beliefs. I was brought up a christian. I am not practising now but that doesn’t mean I cant respect my families beliefs. So many people and cultures and different ways we’ve been brought up. So many different norm’s – i’m sad about Afghanistan situation currently…and I would have hoped it was a norm to be educated to be treated equally and live without fear because of your gender. Yeah a lot of norms all over the world that I do not like.

Where is your favourite place?

I love being at home best.

Portugal is fantastic

We love Morley. We arrive quite early in the morning very saturday and are usually still here in the afternoon. the market is great.

Krakow in Poland, I thought, was an amazing place. I mean Auschwitz is intense and takes a whole day to really see it, but you know its really important to see the extent of what happened in the concentration camps. Also the beer in the bars is so cheap andI think vodka is cheaper than a cup of tea. Its really surprising.

Are you a risk taker?

About some things. I mean I travelled to Australia by myself (from South Africa) and I came to England by myself when I was 21. I like travelling on my own.

Where do you draw the line?

I draw the line at the time I say the car ( lift) is leaving the house. If you are not ready at that time then I am leaving without you. And where should I draw the line re. Bette Midler films – how many is the number where I draw the line? She likes Bette Midler films, I like more sport or action related. We take it in turns and watch them together. But how many Bette Midler films is too many?

What stops you in your tracks?

When I was volunteering the other week, a man living on the street didn’t want a sandwich, and that really made me re-think my assumptions, as I had thought a person living on street would really want a sandwich. Also, he was given a coat which looked really warm and fitted hime perfectly, but he brought it back a little while after because it was a woman’s coat. That really stopped me in my tracks.

What are you ready for?

Im ready for things to get back to normal – like say Christmas. Last year we spent Christmas in the park so that we could be with elder family members safely. I’m really hoping we can have a proper Christmas this year and/ or it isn’t cold.

What would you do if you had no fear?

Travel the world – you know there are some places I cant go ( the way I look) without a lot of planning and thought.

I would get a tattoo or rollerblade (my family see these things as stuff only bad girls do).

I would start my own business….yep I’d change career.

I’d walk the high wire.

I’d play with lions and snakes.

I would let my children play without worry. I broke some ribs snowboarding the other year, and since then I’ve been too scared to go up the mountain. The children still snowboard but I don’t go up with them because I’m scared. I’d like to have no fear about them taking those kinds of risks.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @teaandtolerance