Particularly if you live or work in Lavendar Hill/Clapham Junction
"The Good Neighbour" is a theatre project that Battersea Arts Centre is developing with a company called Uninvited Guests. As part of that process they are looking for people who live or work in the Lavender Hill/Clapham Junction area to contribute stories about their personal experiences of neighbourliness, heroism, kindness or sacrifice that they have experienced locally.
They are also interested in responses to questions about who or what people might give their lives for, and also for stories about last year’s riots. All of this is inspired by the story of George Neighbour. In 1909 he worked at Arding and Hobbs and saved a couple of colleagues from the famous fire that happened in that building. He died in the process. There is a plaque at BAC to commemorate George’s heroism.
Do you have any stories that you might want to share? Here are some questions from the theatre project that might trigger a response, but don't feel like you need to answer all of them:
1. Can you tell us about any acts of neighbourliness, kindness, heroism, sacrifice or selflessness that you have experienced in this area (we are after the little everyday stories as well as life changing events)? Tell us what happened. Where did it happen? How did it make you feel?
2. George Neighbour was a local person who died trying to save his colleagues from a fire. Is there anyone, or anything, that you might give your life for? Tell us about that person or that cause and why you would consider dying for them/it.
3. As you might know, blue plaques are often put up on houses to commemorate where famous people lived. If you could put up a blue plaque to commemorate a local person, living of dead, who did something special who would it be for? It might be a neighbour, a friend, a relative or a complete stranger. Tell us a story about that person which illustrates how special they are/were. And can you give us an address or a description of where the plaque would go.
4. Can you tell us about your experience of the riots at Clapham Junction in August 2011. What was your personal experience of them? What did you feel? Were there any positive experiences that you had that came out of the riots?
If you have any stories please email them to info@uninvited-guests.net
Do not worry about spelling or grammar - they are just interested in what is at the heart of the story.
May 8, 2012