Transcripts on Community
Daisy’s Story by Louise aka Curly Wordy - Holden Point (Part One)
Daisy’s Story by Louise aka Curly Wordy - Holden Point (Part Two)
Jagir’s Story by Suresh aka The Cockney Sikh - Solo Researcher
Primla’s Story by Suresh aka The Cockney Sikh - Solo Researcher
Sardar’s Story by Suresh aka The Cockney Sikh - Solo Researcher
Andy’s Story by Eileen - Carpenter’s Community
Eileen
0:00:00
What did you do for a living?
Andy
0:00:02
I was a cabinet maker and machinist.
Eileen
0:00:07
And how did you get into that line of work?
Andy
0:00:11
Well my brother worked at a factory in Bow making nursery furniture and when I left school I got a job there and that's how I got into it. Then I went on to get my City and Guilds at the London College of Furniture and stayed in the furniture trade until I think I was what, 41? Was it something like that I think, if I remember rightly. And then I got made redundant under the fantastic Mrs Thatcher and I never worked again after that.
Eileen
0:00:54
Did you actually like your job?
Andy
0:00:57
To a degree, yeah. But I was always... I took on trade union work, which became quite a priority to me, and being a dedicated person to what I do, whatever it is, did make me very popular at the company where I was working at. When I left Barry Stocks I went to an office furniture company in Bow and that's where I took up trade union work and eventually ran in the actual trade union in the factory. But my dad said to me one thing many years when I was about 13, he said about trade unions, he said "it's alright being in a trade union but just remember this is what happened to me. I got up and stood up and talked for and on behalf of people and when the company said well if yous want that then you can go, they all backed down and left me and I got the sack" and my dad said that to me and it happened to me basically because I got made redundant because I was the trade union representative there so uh yeah there are things learned
Eileen
0:02:18
Going on from that if you had to do if if you had to do that, if you had that time all over would you do it again?
Andy
0:02:30
No.
Andy
0:02:31
No.
Andy
0:02:32
I'm not sure what you're talking about, the job or the actual trade union part.
Eileen
0:02:40
The trade union part.
Andy
0:02:42
No, I wouldn't ever do it again. Because people have let me down quite often. Even now I do things, I've done things for people. My wife Eileen has been the secretary of a football club and things like that for me and helping me with all things like that. And eventually what I do find is people do let you down. Not everybody but people do let you down because they've not got the same interest or heart in it as you have.
Eileen
0:03:15
Going back to your actual work, what about if you had the time over again, would you go into that career? Or is there another career or kind of work that you would have liked to have done?
Andy
0:03:34
I think without a doubt I would have liked to have worked in an office doing some sort of accountancy because I was really, maths was really one of my most favourite subjects and I wished really I'd have been able to get enough passes or exams when I was at school to have gone into something like that but I didn't. But if I was in a situation to look back and see what I'd done wrong and able to change it that's where I would go.
All audio transcripts (20)
Antoine’s Story by Althea - Badu Digital Hub
Antoine
0:00:00
Well as a career, or path I'm on now, I'm an athlete and I do athletics and I train and obviously I aspire to be like somewhere very good in that category or career choice. So that's what I'm aspiring to be. Other than that I'm not really too sure but you know I'm not really too worried about it either because I'm surrounded by like good people and there's a lot of opportunities for me so yeah there's not really any worries there but yeah athletics is definitely up there.
Althea
You love sport, you love athletics, you love running. Can I ask, not why, but who has inspired you to be so much in love with athletics?
Antoine
It wasn't really athletics at first it was just sports in general like I wasn't always athletic like to do sports and stuff I just enjoyed doing it, because I was good at adapting to the sport. I used to go to multi-sports camps and stuff when I was younger, and that in itself just opened my eyes to many different sports, and I just wanted to do all of them. So it was really enjoyable as well, and the people I went with were also very fun to do the sports with also. So yeah, that just opened my eyes to lots of opportunities and things like that. Athletics just happened to just happen because I tried football and table tennis and a lot of other sports but yeah I just fell back on athletics.
Althea
0:01:26
Do you think doing sport has a positive impact on your mental health? Of course it helps with your physical being but do you think it has a good impact on your mental health?
Antoine
0:01:38
Um well athletics here like in England isn't really like how it is in other places like let's say obviously USA but how it is, it is challenging there's a lot of ups and downs especially in this sport like there's more there's gonna be more downs and there is ups especially earlier on but, if you just stay consistent and stuff then you'll see the ups later on but yeah this is mentally challenging but it does help like clear your head and things like that so it's good for you.
Althea
Have you ever met any famous people to do in sport?
Antoine
0:02:22
Yeah I've met the 400 meter relay runner called Amarachi Pi Pi. I met her at a BADU ceremony like for awards and stuff she gave out our athletics rewards so that was really nice to see her there. Other than that I haven't really, well there's been a lot of people like Dina Asher-Smith and then there's two twins that run as well I forgot their names but they also come to Mile End to train sometimes so I catch them sometimes but yeah that's that's about it. Winning races and things in sports day and Secondary school were really happy moments, like just showing what I could do in front of people always made me feel like, yeah, now I'm heading in the right direction and obviously things are starting to look good and it just made me really happy to do them type of things. And in competitions as well, when I perform really well, that also makes me feel really happy inside because it just shows that my hard work is paying off so yeah it's really rewarding.
Daisy’s Story by Louise aka Curly Wordy - Holden Point (Part One)
Daisy
0:00:00
Once my grandfather passed away, we were in a small state called Johor. That was a garrison camp there as well. My father was transferred again with a second promotion. So when he was there, we were in a convent school. And my father had very good leadership powers. He had very good management skills. And he was a very hardworking man. So I think I took a lot of my father's qualities, and I have my mother's ways. My mother was a gentle person, always been kind to my father, and she was always loving to us, only she was a very strict lady because she lost her father during World War II. He was shot because he was a police superintendent and she was the only girl in the family and she was left with three brothers and the three brothers were left to look... They were students then, no? So, my grandmother on my mother's side looked after the three boys while my mother was put in a convent because she couldn't do much, no? And then my mother turned out to be a kindergarten teacher, and at the age of 16, she was married to my father. So at that age of 16, she was very careful with all of us, and she was very strict, but so much so that we were brought up in a way that everything must be done professionally and follow the regime, regimental, very regimental. My mother made sure that she enjoyed herself with us. What she did was, we were five girls and two boys. She enjoyed doing sewing, cooking, baking, and she was always in the kitchen. She never left us a day without food, but she always made sure we always had food on the table, and she made sure that we all did our chores as we grew up. And when we grew up, I think we all had a lot of... Teenagers, we had a lot of arguments among brothers and sisters, and my mother was always the center where she couldn't solve issues, but my father was always there, and he was a strict one as well. So we were brought up very strictly, regimental, and very... authoritarian type, no? So much so that we had the old school of behavior. And when we grew up, my mother would always say, for girls, as long as you're a teacher or a nurse, it should be fine with her. And when we grew up, we were not very studious, but we all passed out from school. We had GCEO levels, and my sisters and I had very good grades, all five girls, and we all turned out to be nurses. And three of us were nurses and two of them were secretaries for some companies. And after that, my father left us to grow up on our own. We went to different places. We lived on our own and we grew up. I took the position of wanting to go to England because my father was offered to go to England with all of us when they pulled out. But he said that he had too many of us and the money was little. So he decided to stay back in Malaysia. But when I was born during the independence year 1957, my father was very happy because the Malaysian government offered him a very good position and that's how he brought us all up. And when I came up from the age of 19, 20, I took the step of coming to England. Before that my sisters came to England. Celia became an SEN. She was there in Newham Hospital and she turned out to be one of those girls working for health and social care, the social services with children. Towards the end she did well, she got married and went to Australia with her husband and she had a daughter and my other sister also became a nurse. She got a position in Newham General as a bedside practioner and she's retired now and she's facing quite difficult times but I'm the lucky one. I got my SRN and I did my SRN in Newham Hospital as well in Forest Gate during the 70s. And I was a bright one. So they all counted on me and I gave them my best shot. So my father was proud of me that I managed to achieve what I wanted to. But I never wanted to leave England, but I thought my family comes first. At times like this my father needed my help because none of us were married off and he didn't know what was the problem among all of us. So I decided to go home to ask my father how can I help him. So I got a job first and we worked things out. My eldest sister got married and then there were a few proposals for all of us. Only the two in England were a bit stubborn. They said they wanted to choose their own man. So my father was saying to me, no, I'm going to send mummy to them to ask them what they want, because they can't go on after the age of 30, no? They have to be married on and see what they wanted in their life. So that was what happened. I got married finally to my schoolmate. He came in and Alan Lewis is a very bright man. He always got all A's in school, A levels, O levels, and in university. So he came in and proposed to me. I got married and had three lovely boys. And the boys are doing very well. One in America, the other one is in Australia, and the first boy is in Malaysia. Two of them are married and one boy is still studying in Australia. So I have taken a lot of my behaviour and character from my father and my father helped me through my marriage. At the same time, he looked after my children while I was at work. I was very ambitious. I not only started off as a staff nurse in Newham Hospital, in East End Memorial, those days when they played football and I always was a very hardworking nurse. I worked for many years in Newham for eight years after I qualified. Then I went over to Malaysia to help my parents and when I was in Malaysia I decided to work because I was still young. I was about nearly 26, 27 before my proposal came. I worked in hospitals and I found the hospitals were very appalling, so I decided that it's also quite boring being a general nurse, so I went into industries. Actually I enjoyed a lot in Newham because it was more like a home to us and the country all Eastern people and also the Asian people, no? So we felt a lot like home in England and the Cockney people were very funny. So even the hospitals, we find the patients were very welcoming. They were not, they're not aggressive at all and nothing in UK was very pleasant. I picked a lot of my experience from England, my character building, my behaviour as well as my approach towards caring. And I found that my tutors were very good, Ms Macdonald and also the other tutors, Mr Jcwee and all. They brought us up very well. Our class of 77 was known for being a very outstanding class. So I was, there was a pre-nurse, myself and a lady from Zimbabwe. We were the youngest one there. So...
Louise
0:08:09
Did you bring your children up here? - I didn't. - So your boys were not brought up here?
Daisy
0:08:12
No, they were not brought here.
Louise
0:08:15
So did you, so did you, when did you return back to here? Did you return back by yourself?
Daisy
0:08:20
When...
Louise
0:08:21
So you went to Malaysia?
Daisy
0:08:22
Yeah, I went to Malaysia after five years doing general nursing, I found it very boring so I thought I'd covered those areas and I thought I wanted to go home to help my family.
Louise
0:08:33
So then what brought you back?
Daisy
0:08:35
What brought me back was I made a commitment to myself that I would like to come back and further help the country in England to see what I can do for myself and I wanted to see, expose myself more to nursing in the community and see what are all the industries because when I was in A&E department I used to see a lot of injuries and that really struck me that I should actually expose myself to a lot of other areas, other fields to pick up experience which I'm missing out in a lot of that. So the general nursing I managed to cover and I went back and I exposed myself in the community. So what I did was, when I went home, I took a break for a while and then I went into the hospitals. And when I spent my time in hospital in Malaysia and hospital in England, you find that the community there is different. Some of them are aggressive, some of them are very humble, but the exposure from England helped me come through it. And I thought that was a good thing for me as an experienced nurse. So with my exposure, after three years, I started to go into industries where I wanted to see all the different injuries. So I was in Barbados where the American company handpicked me. I was lucky to be there, and I worked for nearly eight years there, and I saw a lot of injuries, and I nursed them. Then I went into the KFC, where is food industry, where I wanted to see the injuries in food. And after that, I went into electronics, when it came out, when the computer came out. So I went to see electronics as well. So I spent eight, 10, and three years in electronics. And after that I said I had enough, I had a lot of experience, I would like to come back to England. And my children were grown, so they said, Mummy, we would all like to be abroad. And Malaysia being a Muslim country, we are Christians. So my father said, don't push them, it's up to them where they want to go. And my ex-husband, I'm a divorced and single parent, my ex-husband was a very good man, he went to do his Master's, and then he proceeded to wanting to do his PhD. So we got separated because he had another girlfriend, no? So we broke up and my parents were very concerned for me. I told my dad I'd like to go back to England. And I always wanted to finish in England and bring my children up here. So my younger boys used to say, Mummy, we all like to come to England. So I said to them, just hold on, boy. If you think you want to come, you join me when you're bigger. Because I didn't want to break their studies. They were doing their diploma and their degree. And my first boy met up with a girl in a university and he got married. So he's based in Malaysia. And my second boy is met somebody in America. I find I can give a lot to Newham and I have given a lot to Newham. And they are very pleased. And I've done a lot of specialized care in the field of nursing with specialised children, like the disabled and all that. And then I met a lot of people with very good leadership skills and I could work along with a lot of them. And if I never came to England, I wouldn't have all the skills and the experience. So I'm very grateful to them. Today I'm happy that I managed to give a lot of the employees what they want and I'm happy that I have picked up those experience which not many nurses have.
Louise:
What are your memories when you first moved to Newham?
Daisy:
My memories were, I think I was a bit taken back with the Asian community, you know, how they lived and how they were. They were very poor. At the same time, they couldn't speak a lot of English. And we were lucky that we could speak English from our home country. Our first language was English. Only after a while, now Malaysia has Bahasa as the first language. So that was it. And then the other thing is, we could speak the Tamil language, the other races, so we could fit in. And sometimes some of them are very friendly, and the Cockney people as well as the English people were very friendly. Our neighbours were very friendly. They were all teachers and they were very supportive, I would say that they were very supportive and very caring a lot. So when we first came to Newham, even the tutors and everybody respected us as students, and they looked after us very well. So I'm very happy that as a student I achieved my goals, and even though I was one of the top students in the class, I appreciate what they have done for me.
Daisy’s Story by Louise aka Curly Wordy - Holden Point (Part Two)
Daisy
0:00:00
I think Vera Lynn went for a party and when she went for a party she had a few drinks and when she had a few drinks I think she was trying to cut something up, she was saying she was trying to cut some strawberries or something and that was the summer time, no? So she was trying to cut some strawberries and she cut her finger and she was told by everybody that she better go to the A&E department and she didn't know what was A&E department because she never had any injuries. So she came to us and I told her, I said, Vera, A&E is known as accident and emergency. "Oh, so I'm an emergency case." I still remember her jokes. I said, you're not an emergency case but you need to be seen. It's quite a deep cut. She says, "don't frighten me." I said, no, I'm not frightening you, but it needs a bit of stitches. So, she had a few stitches by Dr. Samantha.
0:00:56
Yes, they put in and I assisted. She held my hand so tight. I think that time she came back once and she gave a packet of sweets for Christmas, no? A box of sweets to the nurses in A&E department, Dr. Samantha. And we say, oh, that's Vera Lynn. That's how I knew her as Vera Lynn. - Did she sing for you? - She didn't. She didn't. She was just very terrified. She had tears in her eyes. She said, "oh, I'm bleeding."
0:01:25
So Dr. Samantha was a good doctor. He held her hand and said, you don't have to be frightened. She said, "oh, I'm so scared." So she held my hand and she turned her chest to the side. I said, just turn away, don't worry. So he had a little nick. And then she was happy. And then when she came back, only we knew she was Vera Lynn.
Debbie’s Story by Annabella - Solo Researcher
Debbie
0:00:00
I was brought up Roman Catholic. I got really upset with the Catholic Church when I was about 14, so I didn't go to church for a long time then.
Annabella
0:00:15
May I ask you what happened at the age of 14?
Debbie
0:00:19
I felt like it was misogynistic and, you know, washing away, needing to be cleansed and stuff like that. When I found out about that sort of thing, I didn't. My father was very ill from the time I was 12 to the time that he died when I was 20. He'd been brought up Baptist, it's my mother that was Catholic but we were all brought up Catholic. And so he had a different view of religion like, like we were taught you had to go to church on Sunary or you'd be damned or something. I always used to worry about all the children that weren't baptised, when I was a little child, but that really bothered me. - Yeah, what's going to happen to them? It's not their fault if they were being baptised. Did you find the answer to this question? - I just thought it couldn't be, you know, that's why I thought it's nonsense. - And when did you go back? Are you believing now? Are you closer to God now? And when did that come back to you? - I have my own sort of faith I suppose. So we had to have a funeral for my, she was a girl, stillborn baby and I didn't connect with the, for some reason it was the Church of England service. I was too upset to sort of get very involved with that. And then I thought about going back to church every year because I did feel quite spiritual. I know a lot of people can feel spiritual without having religion. So I went back. Really, my daughter got interested in wanting to go to church. So we started going to St John's, which is a Church of England church. And so from the age of when she was about 8 we went there very regularly for a while. I don't go there regularly at all at the moment. I stopped going regularly when my son was particularly unwell, you know, like I felt like I had to be at home. So, you know, not even to go to church. But, I have a sort of very personal faith. I don't feel like you have to go to church. I like going to church, but I don't feel like you have to, like we were taught. Like it was a chore, almost. I did like going to church, even when I was little, because I liked the hymns and everything. - So what does God represent to you? - Um it's hard to describe because it's a feeling like a feeling of connection like I if I'm walking around I can pray if I'm you know so in that way I suppose I'm going back to feeling lonely I wouldn't feel lonely in the sense that there is someone I can talk to you if you know what I mean?
Des’ Story by Althea - Badu Digital Hub (Part One)
Des
0:00:00
I've been in Hackney now for about 15 years. I've been a bus driver for the last 20, 15 of them funnily enough actually in Hackney driving the buses in Hackney. So I've been a Hackney person, Hackney community person, know the people of Hackney. My late wife came from Hackney. I actually met her at work. So yeah, Hackney's kind of been second home to me.
Althea
0:00:29
Some children always say, I want to be this, I want to be that.
Des
0:00:32
Well I've fulfilled my actual role. I actually wanted to be a bus driver.
Althea
You did?
Des
I wanted to be a bus driver. I don't know why or what was the reason, but I just, I think it was back in the day when you used to be under London Transport, there was a skid pad in Chiswick, because that's where the London Transport centre used to be, and I always just wanted to drive that bus in their skid pads. I got to do it for many years, so yeah, I actually fulfilled the job I wanted to do.
Althea
And did you enjoy it then, all the years that you did it?
Des
0:01:15
For the first 15 yeah, towards the end it got a bit strange and monotonous, but the first 10 to 15 years was very enjoyable. I used look forward to going to work. Towards the end, not so much so, yeah.
Althea
0:01:19
Any favourite stories you want to tell us about being on the bus?
Des
0:01:24
Well, it's where I met my wife, so you can't get no better than that. I met my wife, trained her on the bus, we lived together and got married, and unfortunately she passed, but yeah, so my memories on the bus is a very good one. And again when I first got on the bus you could interact with the public they could talk to you um you know you weren't just a bus driver you was a person you was a confident you was a friend all the things now that they've taken away from a bus driver so yeah for me it's changed now. - Yeah so you're saying that that interaction that people used to have with bus drivers doesn't exist? - Not for the health and safety and times have changed, but back then you could get on and you could talk to the driver if you had a problem he'd listen he'd probably try and help you if he could if you had no money he'd let you travel you know, things were a lot more, what's the word? Humanitarian. Empathetic. You listened. You didn't want to be quick to judge people and be harsh.
Des’ Story by Althea - Badu Digital Hub (Part Two)
Des
0:00:00
Even though Hackney's always been predominantly a, pardon the pun but a Black borough, the last 10 to 15 years, there's been a slight change, a lot more, dare I say, money-people coming into the borough, it's sort of losing some of its ethnicity and its culture, which for me I think is not a good thing because if it carries on we're going to lose our culture, which we haven't got a lot of left as it is so we're trying to hang on to the last little bit that we've got. We used to have clubs, pubs, social gatherings, the market, all the sort of stuff that made Hackney ethnic and Caribbean is all going and it don't look like we're gonna get it back anytime soon which is sad and there's not a lot we can do about it because the powers-to-be decided that's how it's gonna be.
Des
0:01:08
We all knew one another. We all used to live together, club together, shop together, socialise together. There ain't that no more. There's no more community centres where you can go in the evening and sit down and socialise with your family, your friends. We have no longer got that community spirit. I think they're taking away that community backbone that we had, that's what they're trying to break by taking away all the places we used to gather in. And I think it's a sad, sad time. Hackney was my social life. The clubs, the parties, the market, the socialising, the camaraderie, it was all there. But now that's, as I said, all gone, and for tomorrow's generation, they're not going to have that, which is very sad.
Althea
0:02:17
What would be your most memorable thing that you'd like to bring back?
Des
0:02:22
Some community spirit, some community centres where the young, middle-aged and the elderly could congregate and start socialising again because Caribbean people are very sociable people, we like to meet up, eat, drink, socialise, party. We haven't got - the last one, for example, one of the last places we had was Wally Foster's community centre, that's gone now. And that just about sums it up.
Des
0:02:53
There's a cafe in Hackney Bridge called Badu Cafe, and that is fulfilling that role, thank God, because we've again got a little somewhere where we can go, but we cannot extend the community the way we would like to socially, party-wise, because it's not that kind of environment. But it's still got some level of community, have coffee, have something to eat and have a gathering. So, as they say, something is better than nothing.
Eden’s Story by Althea - Badu Digital Hub
Eden
0:00:00
I went on to college after secondary school to do a BTEC in National Foundation in Engineering and when I finished that I went on to uni so I could specify what type of engineering I wanted to do.
Althea
0:00:14
And what is that that you decided to follow?
Eden
0:00:17
Computer Systems Engineering.
Althea
0:00:18
Oh wow, so just let me understand what kind of job role does that put you in?
Eden
0:00:24
It puts me in a lot of job roles because there's a lot of modules within my subject to do with programming, computer networks, so that's getting into how computers speak to each other, how they communicate, how data is transferred across. There's also the hardware, fixing computers. There's also, what else, designing computers, computer analysts, it's everything to do - you've really thought about this - I really thought about this. There's a hundred jobs that could come from this course so far.
Althea
0:00:56
Oh, that's wonderful.
Althea
0:00:57
So, who has inspired you or been your biggest inspiration in your life?
Eden
0:01:03
I've had a lot of inspirations in my life. I'd say my dad is one of the main ones. I got into engineering because of him actually because he's an electrical engineer. When he started I think in Ghana and transferred his courses over to here which helped him get a job which is I think why I've been so interested in the side of electrical engineering and computer systems engineering. We are all from Ghana. My dad is from the Sunyani region. My mum is also somewhere about the same region. I don't know, we haven't been there specifically. But they tried to take us back. We've been
Eden
0:01:47
back once, we're planning to go back again. You know, it's not easy planning these things, so it hasn't happened. But we did go back, we did meet all our family, our grandmums. In fact, not everyone in my family was from the same side of Ghana. And we only came to the UK because my mum's sister's husband helped us all get across here. And we're all from the same town in Ghana, the same region. All my mum's sisters are all from the same town. And my dad's side is all from the same region in Sunyani. Yeah.
Althea
0:02:29
Do you understand why they all came here?
Eden
0:02:32
I'd say for a better life. I think they were attracted to this country because they've seen, there was a great movement of a lot of Ghanaians across the world to places like England, to Netherlands, to Italy in fact, to United States, so I think it was all about branching out trying to get more out of life for everyone and their kids.
Althea
Do you think they've achieved that being in England?
Eden
Yes I think they achieved that. They're even planning to go back and retire now.
Althea
To Ghana?
Eden
Yeah.
Althea
Not staying here?
Eden
Not staying here.
Althea
Wow.
Eden
Yeah.
Althea
Have you been to Ghana?
Eden
0:03:20
I've been. I want to go again. I've been once back in year 8 with my family where we met all our other family. That was the basic introduction to me of Ghana. But you know times get hard. I had to focus on school. I didn't really have time to go back but I am getting older. I am getting things out the way and I do want to go back.
Althea
0:03:33
Why? Is there something that you really like about Ghana?
Eden
0:03:35
Yeah, I think Ghana is becoming more of a tourist country at the moment. I think people are finally waking up to see that there's more to Africa. Ticket prices are increasing so that's proof that people are coming across. People are learning about the history of Ghana. I've seen recently that the British Museum is trying to loan back a couple artefacts to Ghana. I think there's an exhibition happening there as well. I really want to go see that. I don't know if I'll get the time to do it but I do want to go back.
Eileen’s Story by Shahina - Carpenter’s Community
Eileen
0:00:00
The kindest person, I mean apart from my parents who were very kind, the kindest person in my life is my husband. He's an extremely kind, lovely person and I can talk to him about anything, I can discuss anything, I can tell him anything. and he's just always been there for me and he will do, if he possibly can help anybody, he will. He never judges anybody, loves meeting new people, chatting and so yes, that's the kindest person to me. I actually met my husband at my cousin's 21st birthday party and I'd kind of been invited, you know, we'd all been invited as a family, and my husband was my cousins' best friend. And so that's where we met, when I'd actually met my husband and as soon as I saw him I knew that he was the one that I was going to be with for the rest of my life.
0:01:19
And we've talked about it in the meantime and he's actually said the same thing. And then the really happiest day of my life was when we got married. It was just a wonderful, wonderful day. Just a simple ceremony, nothing fancy about it, which is the way I really wanted it, well actually the way we both wanted it, neither of us wanted any fuss. Although I think my dad would have liked me to have a big wedding, he just said, well whatever you want is fine with me.
0:01:52
And then the next really happiest time of my life was when I found out I was pregnant for the first time. That was the most wonderful, wonderful feeling. Up until we moved, I lived in my grandmothers, in my grandparents' house in Custom House, which was a three-storied house. My grandparents and my youngest uncle lived on the bottom floor. Me, my dad, my sister and my brother lived on the middle floor and my uncle and aunt and their daughter, my cousin, lived on the top floor. But when I was about two we moved down to a new town, Harlow New Town, and we moved into a three bedroom house which seemed like we had loads and loads of room. But my grandparents, both sets of grandparents still lived in East London and I spent a lot of time in East London. As I got a bit older I tended to spend more and more time in London. I also was working in London so I spent quite a lot of time here.
0:03:11
But when I got married I moved back to, we actually moved back to, London, we lived in Stratford for a while. We then got our own flat in Manor Park. We then moved down to Forest Gate and then about 26 years ago moved to Stratford where I'm living now.
Grace’s Story by Shahina - Carpenter’s Community
Grace
0:00:00
I really love my job. It's very different to what I was doing. I used to do a lot of resident engagement work in my previous roles. Here it's a massive challenge. You're working on a regeneration project that has been on hold for a very long time. So it's about building connections, it's about building trust. We are here just to, we're here to deliver our project, we're here to give people a better place to live. It is challenging but it's very rewarding because you get to do things, you get to do things for the local community, deliver some important things and we're always continuing to find ways we can kind of do good things for the residents on this estate.
0:00:55
But yeah, I'm happy with my job because it's teaching me a lot of things. I've met some really good people and it's a massive learning opportunity as well. That's what I love about my job. There's so much you can learn. And I always love to be in a place where I can learn things. At the same time, whilst I do my job, this job provides me the opportunity to do so.
Ivy’s Story by Louise aka Curly Wordy - Holden Point
Ivy
0:00:00
I used to work down the catgut then with my mum and I always remember that. When I first left school when I was 16, 15, she put me into machinery, you know, started the a shirt place, didn't I? And this lady, I suppose she was one of the managers on that one, she's come up and she showed me what to do and every time I went to do the button, it kept flying off! And it was dinner time. I went, I can't do this, I said. And she said, what? I said, I can't do it, I said, I'm going. And I wouldn't go home, because my dad, you know, because he'd say, why aren't you at work? Anyway, I went down to the catgut where my mum worked and the manager came out and said, what's the matter? I said, I want my mum. So she said, why? I said well they put me in making doing shirts and the buttons keep flying off and I don't like it. So I said I want to come and work with my mum. When in the catgut, years ago, it was like the intestines of lamb and sheep. You used to have to, they like come in big tubes and you had to, with this thing you had to, you had to harden it all over so you got four pieces out of it. then it went for another part where they used to wash it and used to scrape all the stuff off of it. It used to go to another part and then to another part then it used to be spun. It was for stitches. Anyway my mum's come out she said what are you doing down here? So I said I don't like it, that job.
So it was only 1.50 a week. So she said well what are you doing? I said I want to come here with you and I was crying, I was only 15. -What would that 1.50 buy you back then? - I used to owe mum 50 a week I used to give mum 50 and I used to have a pound and I used to buy you everything everything you used to go get a skirt for 2 pence something like that and anyway she I started down the catgut with me mum and when I went home my dad said what you doing home? my mum said she didn't like it she's come with me she's gone down there and I think that's why because in the catgut you used to have to wear white overall, with the turban and the hat like a scarf around your head and you used to have to wear this big brown mac all over you and wellington boots for - cat, cat, gut? - yeah, cat gut, - so it was actually the guts of a cat? - It was Marshgate lane, I'll never forget it. - and you said earlier, they would not spin it out, they would use it for stitches. - Yeah, for stitches, we used to spin it out for stitches, we used to do stitches years ago, it used to come in, it was the intestines of lamb and sheep. - Oh, so not cat's gut? - No, was, as the name was shop, the place was called Catgut, it was lamb's sheep. Yeah, it was a lamb and sheep's intestines, and they used to come in great big bundles, and you used to have this big bath in front of you, and then you had to, it was like a razor blade, and you had to put the nozzle in the end of it, and you had to pull it into four lots.
It's quite a filthy job. It was, and it was so cold, because when you used to have to clean it, you had to go out the summer room and there was like a board and you had boarded pipes, going right along with the cold water coming out the pipes and you used to have a like a scraper it used to be called and you used to have to scrape all the brown stuff off of it and that. - What's it smell like? Was it a smelly job as well?. - It was very cold, very cold in the winter and I think that's why I've got a lot of problems now.
- What was it like? Was it like an open factory? Like an open warehouse? - It was a factory. Used to go down by Marshgate Lane, over the bridge and then used to go through this factory there and there was other factories in there. Where I worked at the Catgut was called. It was right down the bottom of the road, down the bottom of the yard. and we used to work quarter past eight to quarter past four but we used to have to work Saturdays as well and if you stayed a week, and if Saturday mornings usually I used to get three fifty there three pound fifty a week but if you done a full month and you didn't have a day off or you was never late you used to get your fourth Saturday off I used to get paid for it, and I used to give it that 4th Saturday off - And was that all contractual work, or was that like cash work, did you have a contract? - Oh yeah, you had your cards and everything - Oh, so it was like check in - Yeah, yeah, like the thing where you put your card in to say you're in on time.
Jagir’s Story by Suresh aka The Cockney Sikh - Solo Researcher
Jagir
0:00:00
When I was in India, I always everywhere on my bike. Yeah, but when I go back to India, so I did ride the bike over there. But when I go again, then I say it's too much travel. That's not bike ride anymore. So now cars are everywhere. But here, the trains are so good. Here is like traveling everywhere, anywhere you need to go. It's not hard. Anytime you can go here and there. But you need to make sure you are safe wherever you are going.
0:00:41
You don't know what can happen anywhere. Because so many incidents happen. But thank God at the moment all is good so I always encourage I like need to go to the Southall Mela and I just went to the Gurdwara then I just mentioned couple of friend I'm going to the Gurdwara tomorrow they say why you going by yourself I said why why not why can't I go myself? I always travel everywhere, I don't bother about anybody. It's when you are with yourself, yeah, it means you are free. You don't bother about others. When you are with others, then you have to stuck with them.
0:01:27
You know, while I was working with the interior designer, I thought I passed my driving test. Then I find so many ladies, like young girls, they were not comfortable with their instructor, because the male one, but they couldn't find many a lady driving instructor. Then that encouraged me, why not I can do it? Because once, what happened, when I was taking my lesson and my driving instructor, she fell asleep. Then I shouted, come on let me know where we are going, where we are going. So then she said, go straight, go straight. So, that's not a good thing to say that, but I like to help others.
0:02:14
So, when I was driving, I thought, it's so good, you are sitting down and going everywhere. Then I see so many young girls, they got young children. Then I thought when I become driving instructor, these all can have the car because they won't suffering on the buses and trains. Because when you got the young children, you need your own transport. And which country you are living, you need to know how to drive also. I always encourage girls, you need to learn on manual, they said why? I said I know it's in the beginning a little bit difficult but when you pass your test you can drive any car, because if you pass your driving test on automatic then you're stuck with it so I still got my still got my same number and I got still so many calls, "are you still doing the job, can you recommend anybody?" like you so people you know I know so many girls tell me the story but I had that driving stutter he was like that and then we step back and that meant I didn't take the lesson because we was not happy with the driving instructor but I always very busy when I was in that line so that's so good I thought if I can do it, so anybody can do it.
0:03:42
So driving is my own freedom. Any time, day and night, I still go anywhere I like. That's my own freedom.
Johnny’s Story by Moona - Newham Community Project
Johnny
0:00:00
I mean either you mainly spend it with your family, but I like the day before Eid when everyone roams around in Green Street or Ilford Lane as well, the shopping and all that kind of celebration, I like that. I think that during Ramadan it's beautiful that you can go to any mosque and they give food, like for Maghrib they give food, but then I know Gurdwara as well like every weekend they give food to people as well, so if you can actually promote them to homeless people as well, you can go to any mosque and they will give you food, you don't have to be Muslim, you can just have the food. I think my religion is just helping me to be a better person, it's teaching me how to speak with people, how to treat them, like how to behave with them, it's given me such a really good guidance and I'm learning way more now than I used to.
Linda and Adrian’s Story by Deborah - Our Parklife
Linda
0:00:00
I was initially started in St. Mary's Hospital, which is down, actually is now behind the Plaistow Station, there and then. And it was only a woman's gynae ward, a womens' only gynae ward. Then for two years, 1983, we moved down to Newham. And from then, that's how we moved to Stratford, isn't it? So straight away, we live in Stratford. We have been living in different parts of Stratford but it's always Stratford, Stratford, Stratford.
Adrian
Quite close by.
Linda
Because you see, it's what -
Adrian
0:00:41
There and then it's quite convenient to, er, for our work.
Linda
For me to go to work.
Adrian
My accountancy firm is just like a walking distance from where we were staying. And then for Linda's hospital also, about a mile, two or three stops away.
Linda
Down the road.
Adrian
There it was good in that way.
Linda
0:01:05
Well, really, to be quite honestly speaking, when I first came down in 1981, I was a bit shocked. I said, my goodness, the area looks a bit, the word is, to be honest, I would say it's shabby and grey and really quite different from where I did my nursing training. But as I live long, as I started to settle in, there's a part of it I always say, beauty, it does not come straight away. You know, it will come better. I give myself time. I'm sure somewhere, I strongly believe that there is a lot of opportunity here to get this place really nice. And there and then, I wasn't sure what is coming. But I said, you never know a place until you actually live in it before you can make a judgment about things. So beauty is only skin deep. So forget about it and get moving and do a job well, so I stay on the job. Since then, if you give me a million pounds, I wouldn't think I would want to relocate it or what do you call, to somewhere else. No. I live here, I used to work here, now I retire, I will never let it go. It's beautiful. You have to come here to know how beautiful the whole of Stratford our part of London Borough of Newham has become. I'm very grateful and very pleased for myself that I stay on what I believe in. I did not shift my focus and I stayed put.
Linda
0:02:37
It is the people in this area I think also, it's not just because we attract the banker, the art and all sorts of thing. It's not, it's not. It's home, yeah. Maybe I'm biased because I live here, you know what I mean? But I would like to, if I had to sell, I would sell Stratford. I would sell Stratford to anybody. Give me a chance, I'd sell it. I'd sell it, not because it's the value, it's the added on value with the park.
Adrian
And the people.
Linda
0:03:21
How could any, and the people, and the way that we can, different communities getting together. We don't need to have, we just sort of cohesively, we are all together. You can't deny that. I've always believed that in order to get things moving, one person's effort is not, is not. It has to be a combined, it doesn't matter what you think you couldn't offer, or a little bit of your time, a little bit of... It's just a team spirit, a team effort, and you will get things moving. You can't move a mountain with one person, but if you have a whole lot of people, it doesn't matter what you want to move, you will move it. Through sheer combinations of team effort and community, we can't do anything without the community. It's the community, is the focus of, I think is the focus of life. Whatever I have, I benefit from living in here, so I want to share what I know, what I have, what I can do to make even a slight difference. It doesn't bother me.
Linda
0:04:29
We are for everybody. Even if we can't get into the most expensive apartment, but the park belongs to everybody. Anybody can come and enjoy every corner of it.
Narjess’ Story by Alexis - Deep Boroughs
Narjess
0:00:00
One thing that I appreciate about East London, or London, I'm not sure if it's different, compared to where I was before I came to London, is the community centres. I really like community centres here. - Yeah, do you go in them? - Yeah, the concept in general, like not all countries have community centres. Like in Tunisia we have youth centres, we have cultural centres, but they're not community centres where neighborhoods actually, like neighbors actually go and interact and all families and go and it's entirely dedicated for the community.
Narjess
0:00:20
We don't really have that in Tunisia. I really like this concept. I know it exists in the U.S. as well and I like it there as well, but you know, it's something I really appreciate and I find that it does have a certain real community feel. Of course it varies, you know, some community centers are different, but I do find that those are interesting and probably worth maintaining and keeping, funding, etc. because I know funding is an issue, but anyways.
Paulina’s Story by Ismena - Roma Support Group
0:00:00
Ismena:
Hi, what's your name and where do you come from?
Paulina:
Hi, I'm Paulina and I come from Poland.
Ismena:
How long have you been in the UK?
Paulina:
So, it will be 25 years now.
Ismena:
And how was it being Roma in Poland?
Paulina:
I was born in Poland but I wasn't really raised up in Poland. I came to London when I was very little.
Ismena:
Was it any different being Roma in England?
Paulina:
Being Roma in England, um, to be honest I haven't really told anyone I was Roma. I told some of my friends because I was actually really scared of their reaction. But some of the friends that I've told, they reacted in a good way so it wasn't bad.
0:00:49
Ismena:
And what's your favourite part about being Roma?
Paulina:
I would have to say the culture. I really love the food, it's really rich, the music, and I really like the way family is really close to each other.
Ismena:
What stood out to you the most upon your arrival in England?
Paulina:
Like I said in that other question, I was pretty much raised up in London, but if I would be coming to London for the first time, I think it would be the different type of races that are in London.
Ismena:
Did you have any cultural shocks?
Paulina:
To be honest, not really because I was kind of like, like I said again, I was raised up in London so I was kind of grown up with everything around me and, the different cultures, I was kind of used to it.
Ismena:
And what makes Roma culture unique to you?
Paulina:
Um, unique? I would definitely say that keeping together as a family is the strongest point because nowadays you don't really find a lot of, you know, people and just being together as a family and in the Roma culture we still have that big family gatherings and it's just really nice to stay together every time.
0:02:33
Ismena:
Did you face any difficulties because of the language barrier?
Paulina:
To be honest, because I started my education here in London, I went to school and everything, so I kind of straight away knew the English language, so not really.
Ismena:
And how was the educational experience here in the UK?
Paulina:
I was kind of grown up in London and I started school, primary school and I was going into secondary school and everything so.
Ismena:
And did you face any racism?
Paulina:
To be honest, because I told some of my friends that I was Roma, and I knew that I could trust them, so I didn't really face that much racism. But again, I didn't really tell a lot of people that I was, so they could have had like a different reaction to my friends, but it wasn't bad.
Ismena:
Okay, thank you very much for your time, we really appreciate it.
Paulina:
Thank you.
Primla’s Story by Suresh aka The Cockney Sikh - Solo Researcher
Primla
0:00:00
I believe God. I love my God. I always ask Him that I know there are trouble. Everyone got trouble. If there are any trouble comes, please help me. Only I ask God. And I don't want to tell everyone. I never told before my story to everybody because I want to be strong myself and I want to stand up on my feet and I'm giving the same lesson to my children as well. Don't ask anything to anybody, just try to work, it will come true and God will help you then. I'm still helping people when I see outside. You will never believe how many people I brought in the Toynbee Hall. Agnes was here and whenever I meet somebody I like to talk to them outside so I asked them why don't you come in the center why don't you come in the center and we are doing this we are doing this and you will never believe my grandson he was two he started St. Brooke Nursery and my friend said to me why don't you come in the center I said no I don't want to come and I went home and my husband didn't like that I should go in the center And he didn't like that, but anyway slowly slowly. I she said come one day and have a look. I went Dean Cross near Botany Market, I left my grandson there in the nursery from the highway I came in the Dean Cross and I start going there now and again, but I didn't tell my husband because he didn't like it.
0:01:42
But slowly, slowly, one person from the same place started going there. Then I was thinking I will be in trouble now. But she might tell my husband that I go in the center, which I never tell lie, but I didn't tell him what I'm doing. But anyway, I started going there, and then I tell my husband, and he find out anyway, and he said to people, oh, my wife is working there, which I was not working there. I was like other people passing the time there. But anyway, they pick me up from my home and they brought me in my house from Dean Cross. Then they called me after four or five years in the office and they said, Primla, we don't want you anymore, come here.
0:02:32
Because slowly, slowly, I go there a lot. And as I was going for more hours there, spending a lot of my time there, because my husband knew that what I'm doing, so I never tell a lie anyway. They called me, we don't want you. And I said, okay. They said, why don't you do the laundry work for us. I said okay. So then, because when the people go there, White people, they were in a linkage and I was telling them, look we are doing this, we are doing this, why don't you come, why don't you come. I was just talking in the passage and my boss, she heard or they saw me, I'm helping other people and then they gave me the certificate of laundry work. And anyway, I was in the St. Hilda, I got a certificate from St. Hilda because that branch is together.
0:03:18
So anyway, since that I get more and more habit like that, telling the people and go there and go there. And anyway, slowly, slowly I find out David from Toynbee Hall, he asked, why don't you come in the Toynbee Hall? I said, okay, we see. Then me and my other friend, Saida, we came in the Toynbee. We didn't like it here. So since that we are using the Toynbee Hall now. And I said the Agnes, because I brought many people.
Sardar’s Story by Suresh aka The Cockney Sikh - Solo Researcher
Sardar
0:00:00
Gurdwara, I believe, is the second oldest in the UK. And it was, you know, the Gurdwara started here in I believe in 1956 or around that period. Gurdwara was one in Campbell Road in Bow E3 and yes just off Bow Road. At one time you know it was we had a huge community in the Gurdwara because most of the Sikhs, they lived in East London, especially in Bow, but over a period they moved out to different parts. So we have a lesser community here, but the Gurdwara is still here. As you are very likely familiar with the aspect of the Langar, it is the free kitchen which is, you know, is to basically help the needy and to eradicate the caste system and it was started by Guru Nanak at the time he started with the funding of 20 rupees which was donated to him, given to him by his father, Kalyan Das ji. So ever since then, on the basic principles of serving the people, and at one platform, it is a practice for all the Gurdwaras.
0:01:59
Bow Food Bank started about 12 years ago in the local church, which is the St. Mary's Church, and so ever since then it is still running and very kindly they have taken me as one of the trustees of the food bank and so I am grateful to the church and this East London society who has given me an opportunity to serve the community and you know to pay back something which I have gained over the years from the community so I'm grateful to them for that.
Tee’s Story by Eileen - Carpenter’s Community
Tee
0:00:00
There was a time there was a lady, a single lady that had triplets on the estate. And the women just came together, agreed, had a rota and supported her throughout. That is a community. That is a community. And when the children eventually, this is not just during the day, night, there is a night routine too. Because they realize that she will need that help. That is, to me, is what a community is for. Looking after each other, being the helper, giving that helping hand to others. So that is something. And then you find that we have, we used to have a lot of elderly people.
0:00:59
Before COVID, the people would be going there to do the shopping for that, to do the cleaning for that. To me, that is love. That is something that I like, that is something that I really admired. And unfortunately, it hasn't disappeared completely, but it's something that I missed on the estate. It is something that I really missed on the estate. So you find that the unity and the love, this is an asset that we have hundreds of people from diverse places, and still there are no tribal wars, there are still no gang wars, there are still no... so peaceful. Those are the things.
Terry’s Story by Beth - Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
Terry
0:00:00
through a brilliant guy called Robert Deller who had been a punk journalist and so many people that he knew during the first wave of punk had ended up in the mental health system and he was a quite political anarchist and so that's how he got involved and he was inspirational and he started off a lot of careers within the mental health field Robert and he was very you know just a brilliant guy and through Robert we started me him and another guy started Hackney Patients Council we got funding and at the same time my true education had started I had done a foundation course in social science at City and Islington College where I'd been previously when trying to be an apprentice electrician where I met up with Jim Stide it was the same day released college and Judy, when she first came over to this country, she went to City and Islington College. But yeah, that 15-week course was, you know, it was an evening class, I think two hours.
0:01:00
And I just thought, wow, because I'd had negative memory of education and being talked at and looked down upon and hit and all that sort of thing. It was a very, so after 27 years, going back into the classroom, you know, but learning things like, because it was sociology, and I'll never forget it, the three functions of poverty we did. And what, poverty has a function? And I realised it wasn't by accident, it's by design. And it was a revelation to me. And then, because of all the voluntary work, I then got into an access course to get the qualifications to go to uni. And in 1994, at the age of 42, I went to North London University and done for a diploma in social work.