Legacy
Legacy
Please note: this post is 102 months old and The Cares Family is no longer operational. This post is shared for information only
Charlotte and Patrick have been a staple at South London Cares’ Social Clubs for a year, and are about to leave our SLC family to go travelling in South East Asia before moving to Australia for a year or two. Before they head off, they wanted to share their experience with us and tell us why they will miss being part of our Social Clubs. In his blog, Patrick tells us what his time as part of SLC has meant to him.
When I was 16 I lost my last grandparent. She was incredible; full of joy, energy and a passion for life. She maintained that at the age of 80 she could still play football, I never doubted her, I’m sure she could have played on the left wing with all the self confidence of her 20s. I hold close the nostalgic stories that taught and warned me about the world I was growing up in, and especially appreciate them now that she’s not here.
Having moved to London a few years ago I decided to involve myself with the best this city has to offer a young man in his 20s! Including, amongst other things, a daily grind of coffee shops, glittering offices, growing career prospects, boozy evenings, overpriced housing, fashionable gyms, social media profiles and smashed avocado photos. The number of evenings spent with either a beer or a mobile phone in my hand were becoming uncountable. Somewhere in between all this I was slowly realising there was a wider, greater, London community out there, one that was becoming increasingly polarised to young men like me.
I spent several months toying with the idea of volunteering with different charities, but nothing seemed to really fit. So when my girlfriend Charlotte first told me about South London Cares I was very excited to hear that an organisation like it existed and that I could quite easily take part during evenings and weekends.
Meeting my older neighbours through South London Cares for the first time was quite daunting. Sitting down in a room of complete strangers and having to connect to people of a completely different background seems to me quite a brave thing to do. I always seem conscious to make a good first impression, to be interesting and interested, though I’m probably imagining it to be far more complicated than it actually was.
My first social club was Pub Club in Kennington. It’s a simple idea; get everybody together, older neighbours and volunteers alike, in a reserved area and share a drink or two and have a good natter. As soon as I parked myself at the table, beer in hand, the conversation seemed to flow easily and naturally. The neighbours are always so inquisitive and once you get past the initial ‘where do you live?’ and ‘what do you do?’ you start to learn a lot more about them as individuals. At Pub Club I met Ibrahim and Karim, two old friends from Iraq and Syria. They both told me a lot of incredibly eye opening things about their culture and home countries, which I would never have known otherwise. I remember walking home smiling from ear to ear thinking about what I’d heard and shared with these two.
It’s an interesting dynamic, putting strangers from different backgrounds and generations together in melting pot situations. However, you quickly become increasingly interested in each other, asking lots of questions and trying to imagine what the other’s life must be like.
I’ve found over the months that the neighbours are genuinely fascinated by the lives we lead in London, though I would argue, not as much as I am in theirs. Some of the adventures they’ve had, and are still having in a lot of cases, are incredible! One of the standout stars for me is Frances, who for her 90th birthday was given gliding lessons by her family! Frances, not to be one to turn down such an experience, was straight up there, and apparently mid-flight was told to take the controls and fly the glider herself. I have a fantastic mental image of Francis in an old school flying hat, complete with goggles, giggling to herself as she looks down on the world, turning the glider through the air at 10,000ft.
There isn’t much in life more rewarding than helping somebody to do something new, I’m sure all teachers would agree, and for that reason the tech workshops are my favourite events. Taking a couple hours out on a Saturday to sit with the neighbours and walk them through something on their laptop, tablet or phone is a bit of a challenge, but thoroughly enjoyable. People our age take for granted how much technology has changed in the past 20 years, and how quickly! I can only imagine what it must be like to pick up a laptop or smartphone for the first time and not have the first clue as to what you can do with it. Helping some of the neighbours navigate the world of social media, posing with them for their first selfie and reinforcing the security aspect of internet banking is all part and parcel of my average Saturday morning.
Over my time in London, I’ve realised that my generation has become detached and separated from the rest of this city. The older neighbours I’ve met through SLC have seen their city change beyond all recognition and they’ve made me realise, amongst other things, that when a new high rise set of flats goes up, however impressive and expensive it may be, it has replaced not just an old shop or pub, but a landmark that was once held dear by the people in that community.
As my peers strive to better their careers and their lives by creating a visionary city on a global stage, we should all remember that London once belonged to a different generation and they created this wonderful city that we now call home, for which we should be grateful.
From quiz nights and films clubs to the arts and crafts evenings, attending South London Cares’ social clubs has been extremely varied, enlightening and enjoyable. The charity is attended by so many vibrant characters with such a tangible and genuine lust for life that it’s so easy to keep coming back. Being around the older neighbours, discussing the trials and successes of their lives has both touched and inspired me. The advice and words shared by the neighbours in my time at South London Cares has kept me grounded, made me more self aware and mindful about using my life and treasuring my youth.
I would urge anybody who has some spare time and wishes to do something fun, yet different to give South London Cares a try, your older neighbours may just change your perspective on life.