Legacy
Legacy
Please note: this post is 89 months old and The Cares Family is no longer operational. This post is shared for information only
Daisy and Emilie were introduced just over a year ago through our Love Your Neighbour programme. The friends both live in Brixton and both speak French as their first language (Daisy grew up in Mauritius and Emilie is from Belgium) and at their meet-ups they speak a combination of French and English.
We sat down with the pals to talk about their friendship over a cup of tea and cake. Emilie told us that Daisy always laughs because she doesn’t have tea in her milk: ‘‘I’ve never got used to this English thing!’’ She also told us that Daisy always feeds her cake: ‘’I have more of a sweet tooth than her I think. I’m going to put it away soon before I eat it all."
Daisy (86)
"I came to London when I was 35 years old. I have moved many times in south London and have lived in West Norwood, Vauxhall, Waterloo and Brixton. I used to like dancing and going to parties with my family. I’ve always liked shopping – especially at Morleys in Brixton.
I used to have lovely neighbours and friends and now people move and you don’t know your neighbours. I miss that.
The Love Your Neighbour programme is nice because it sometimes seems that people are not as friendly as they once were. Being matched is interesting and wonderful. I like talking to a young person who listens and cares. Every week Emilie comes and sees me – we are chatting, we are laughing. We talk about our countries, food and what we eat! We watch Western films. We talk about fashion and look at magazines: I love clothes. People say I'm always ‘dressed to kill’.
Emilie is so nice – I really love her. She’s very caring. Sometimes I say 'don’t come' as I know she’s so busy, but she always says 'no, I want to come!' Just having someone to sit with and have some company is really nice. Someone to share things with. And she’s so young – I’m really surprised that young people care."
Emilie (29)
"I moved to London six years ago. Initially it was to study and I ended up doing two Masters degrees – and never left! I met my boyfriend here who’s British. I like living in Brixton and my favourite place in London is Wilton’s Music Hall.
I for one don’t know my neighbours which is a bit sad, so I thought doing some volunteering would be nice. I would like the same opportunity when I’m 86. In a big city, we don’t connect and that’s why I wanted to do it.
It’s nice to have a weekly date with Daisy – to catch up, chat and drink tea. We look at magazines together, we watch TV, we watch old James Bond movies. James Bond is Daisy’s favourite. She also likes Western movies and Clint Eastwood – because he’s attractive! We like clothes, and Daisy has quite the collection. We look at fashion magazines and discuss what we think is hideous!
It was great when we came to South London Cares third birthday party together – Daisy uses a wheelchair and doesn’t get out much so it was nice to book the taxi and a have a trip out together.
I like chatting to Daisy about Mauritius, her work, and about her time in Brixton. It’s nice to hear her memories and how Brixton has changed in 40 years. In the end, it doesn’t feel too different to speak to Daisy – even with the years between us, we just chat."
Daisy and Emilie are one pair of 65 Love Your Neighbour matches – south Londoners who might not usually have met, but who can gain a lot from knowing one another. Find out more about Love Your Neighbour here.