Pat's neighbourhood, 40 years on

Please note: this post is 104 months old and The Cares Family is no longer operational. This post is shared for information only

A recent trip with South London Cares to Myatt’s Field Park was a trip back to the past for social club regular Pat, 83, who hadn’t been back there for 40 years. It was the park of her childhood, right next to where she lived, and she took the opportunity for a spot of nostalgia by wandering around her old neighbourhood. Along the way, I learnt a lot about what community meant to her.

When Pat knew Myatts Field in the 1960s, the park was practically just a field with a swing. Her days were spent playing, and watching weddings at the nearby church. As we went looking for these landmarks of Pat’s childhood, she shared her memories of these past times.

Unsurprisingly, lots has changed. The difference which struck Pat the most was the way that children are restricted and monitored in their play. Pat fondly remembers her mum shooing them out the house to go to the park unaccompanied and unafraid—now every place intended for children was safely fenced off and guarded by parents. Perhaps this is for the better, but is it is also indicative of people’s lack of trust in their neighbours? In society today, it’s harder to feel that communities exist where people know each other well and are friends as well as neighbours.

Pat’s excitement of seeing her childhood house after 40 years ended in disappointment. The garden wall, which was low and opened into the street, has been replaced with a six-foot cinder block façade. In Pat's day, neighbours could say hello, friends could vault over the wall to play, but it's now distanced from the community. The sight visibly rocked Pat. She remembers a community where people knew each other, spent their birthdays together, and invited each other round for barbeques and parties.

This feeling of a lost community continued as we walked out of the park through her old neighbourhood. Lots of the houses, where once friends lived, are dilapidated; the local pub, where her dad spent time with his friends, was closed; the local Minet Library also closed.

Knowing your neighbours is valuable, rewarding and enriching. You need fewer walls, you’re less afraid of going out, and you feel a belonging to a place. People identify with the communities they are part of, be it a neighbourhood, a regular haunt, or even just a hobby they share with others. Strong communities make for a better city, and we should always strive to know our neighbours as Pat knew hers.

You could hear more from Pat, and our other neighbours like Rita and Geoff by coming to your local South London Cares Social Club. By hanging out with your older neighbours you’re helping to create the community bonds we all need.