Each 6m long silk flag is a unique design and between them, they feature icons of hope including brass bands, a sweetshop, avocados, a baby, summer meadows and even a cup of tea.

Every image that appears painted on a flag represents a story of hope that was told by one of the residents during a series of storytelling and reminiscence workshops.

Zoom based sessions were run with residents of three Tameside residential homes by specialist workers from project partner Sonder Radio. Interviewers asked residents what hope meant to them and encouraged them to talk about positive memories from their younger years.

The Flags for Hope being painted 

Christine McVey, 74, who grew up in Kenya, and now lives at Sandon House in Mossley, revealed a memory about her childhood garden, which later ended up illustrated on one of the flags.

She said: "The magical thing was the avocados. I was a little girl then picking them off the trees. They were emerald and really yellow on the inside. They tasted very bland but a simple dressing of salt and vinegar transformed them."

Madge Wilson, 91, who also lives at Sandon House, spoke about how her grandchildren and great grandchildren give her hope.

Talking about the regular photographs her family sends to her, she said; "Even though they are in photographs, it's nice to watch how they grow.

The flags were created from designs dreamed up by five local artists and inspired by the stories told by the residents. They were painted by a team of 27 volunteers at The Vale. Altogether, hand-making the flags with a technique called batik, which involves wax and dyes, took over 100 hours.

The three residential homes, all owned by HC-One, taking part in the project are Sandon House in Mossley, Daisy Nook House in Ashton and Stamford Court, in Stalybridge. Until 20 August, the flags will fly from 8m high flagpoles outside each of the homes in turn.

Flags for Hope at Daisy Nook House care home