Elephant & Castle Social Clubs: "It feels like a community"

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Diana, 86, is a regular at our Elephant & Castle social clubs. Over the 65 years she’s called Elephant & Castle home, she’s seen the area undergo dramatic change from a simple high street, to a hub of the Latin American community, to the wealth of shiny tower blocks that have sprung up over the last few years.

The offer of a pound extra a week to her salary brought Diana to Elephant & Castle from the Surrey suburbs when she was 20 years old. In the fifties she worked and lived in an off-licence with her husband and her baby, and since then she’s been part of the community—always friendly and approachable, often stopped by students at the local uni who ask to take pictures of her impeccable style: “I don’t know why…everyone used to dress like this!”

When the Draper Estate opened in 1965, Diana was one of the first people to move in, and she’s been there ever since. Back then, the exotic cuisine Elephant & Castle is known for was summed up in a single Greek Restaurant.

But although many people are excited that Elephant & Castle’s been lauded as “London’s hottest Zone 1 regeneration zone”, lots of older neighbours like Diana can feel left behind by the changes. For Diana, the transformations in Elephant & Castle are “probably for the best—but it doesn’t seem so for me.”

Even in her own block, the changes in the area have led lots of the neighbours she knew well to move away. And for someone like Diana who is accustomed to a strong community, not knowing the people you live with can be an isolating experience.

Happily, Diana says coming along to social clubs has brightened her evenings. Travelling is a struggle, so having a go at the quiz nights and watching new films right on her doorstep has been a welcome source of fun. But it is meeting her younger neighbours which Diana has enjoyed the most. She was initially surprised that younger people wanted to get to know her, but chatting with her friends like Alice and Danni , she’s been made to feel valued by her younger neighbours, and she values the new experiences and perspectives they give. As Diana puts it, “it feels like a community.” A pound extra a week brought Diana to Elephant & Castle, but it’s her sense of community which keeps her here.