Hidden Heroes

These films aim to celebrate the spirit and optimism of some of our older neighbours; their passions and hobbies, their mischief and humour, their reflections on the past and their hopes for the future.

Through these films we wanted to document the range of personalities and experiences right on our doorstep – and to encourage people to be part of their community. They're a little different from our normal way of operating which focuses on building real world relationships across social and generational divides - but they aim to bring a flavour of the character and resilience of our older neighbours to the digital generation in a new way.

Our Hidden Heroes include:

• Fred, who has lived in Elephant and Castle for all of his 92 years.
• Lupita, who made Clapham home after moving from Chile.
• Sylvia, a dynamic 84 year old Jamaican with a love of people and Brixton.
• Margaret, a 96 year old who remembers everything from her younger days.
• William and Jean, a couple from Streatham with a great love for each other, travelling and food.
• Richard, a Herne Hill local with 82 years worth of stories and humour to match.

These films were made by our friend and talented filmmaker Tim Marrinan, and featured in Below The River. As you watch the films, we hope you enjoy spending time with our older neighbours as much as we do. Please share these stories and help us celebrate the wonderful people in our community!

Fred

Fred has lived within a square mile of Elephant and Castle for all of his 92 years. He has a completely optimistic and contagiously playful approach to life. Always on the lookout for a chance to play a game of dominoes, he’s in his element when sharing his top tips to get a competitive game out of someone. Read more about Fred here.

Lupita

Lupita is a serene, eloquent and warm person. At 70, she’s a young older person – but has packed a lot into her life, even since becoming blind. Lupita has encountered large obstacles and small setbacks since then. But the strength of her character has kept these things in check. Read more about Lupita here.

Sylvia

Sylvia is a bubbly and wise 86 year old who made Brixton her home when she moved here from Jamaica 50 years ago. Watch Sylvia take us on a tour of her community with her stories of Brixton in days gone by and read more about Sylvia here.

Margaret

Meet Margaret: a south Londoner with 96 years worth of stories, experiences and wisdom to pass on to you. She began her life whilst doing her bit to help out in the Second War World, and remembers it as a time of great freedom. You can hear all about it in her film and read a little more about Margaret here.

William and Jean

William and Jean are the stars of our fifth Hidden Heroes film, and really embody the phrase, ‘age is just a number’. At 91, William is learning new languages and Jean is travelling as much as ever. They are regulars at our Brixton, Streatham and Herne Hill social clubs and have so much enthusiasm to learn and to pass on their knowledge and experiences. We hope you enjoy their film, and if you want to read more about them - look no further than here.

Richard

Richard describes himself as an ordinary bloke, although we feel he’s a man of extraordinary experiences and achievements. We hope you enjoy his film - the last in our series about some of our amazing older neighbours. He values time spent with others more than most other things in life. Richard came to our first ever social club in Stockwell back in August 2014. He was one of the first older south Londoners to be matched with a volunteer for a little extra company and companionship through our Love Your Neighbour scheme, and you can read more about him here.