From Lutterell Hall WB to Lutterell Court WB: It’s all in OUR community: Joan, rose, cheri and Asia

Featured Image: MTVH’s Lutterell Court community centre Platinum Jubilee party June 2nd 2022 Rose Bradford organiser, with the platinum celebration cake

Rose Bradford and Joan Picker are at the heart of regular community activities at Lutterell Court West Bridgford NG2 7LN just off Uppingham Crescent, West Bridgford.

After long working and family lives and living in Metropolitan Housing they’re still giving, sharing and caring running a regular chat, conversation, catch up on Thursday mornings between 10am and 12 with coffee, tea, squash and home made cake and gateau. On June 2nd 2022 the team organised and ran a very successful community buffet to celebrate the amazing 70 years of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign.

Stories about people’s lives will be covered in the coming weeks: Rose, for example, ran Keep Fit classes for over fifty years….so she’s full of wisdom and insights as to what community needs just now!).

The Platinum Jubilee celebration both in all the Spring bank holiday activities and in the way it opens up the rest of the year for community activities is a fantastic thing: never forgetting anyone in our community is the way forward just now.

Rose, Joan and Rose’s grand daughters Asia and Cheri (and other people I don’t know yet) brought a spirit of the past, present and a great future to their platinum jubilee buffet which ran from 11am-2.30 at Lutterell Court on June 2nd 2022.

Thinking about this great community spirit it happens because of great people like Rose, Joan, Asia and Cheri but it’s also about having an environment that knows you, acknowledges you and welcomes you where you can run things, do things, develop community involvement.

Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing (MTVH) has always had the right idea about the community and this is a legacy that you can see in the three interconnected community centres: Walcote Drive, Lutterell Court and Rugby Road.

The housing association was established as Metropolitan Housing in May 1957 by the (very posh) but extremely kind and well meaning Molly Huggins wife of the then governor of Jamaica to bring great affordable housing to the Windrush generation

Now in 2022 housing and community centres should be recognised as a really important connector across generations that can bring space and time for friendship, new activities and new ways of participating in the local neighbourhood. Talks, education, opportunities to share knowledge, skills, experience for the whole neighbourhood can be nurtured.

The buffet that Rose and co organised on 2nd June (including Platinum Jubilee cake) was organised with great care as an open event so friends and friends of friends and neighbours from Walcote Drive, Rugby Road as well as Lutterell Court could pop in and out during the afternoon. Food was shared afterwards with friends, neighbours and relatives so it was like a gift that keeps on giving.

Because of Covid it takes a while for people to regain their social momentum so the gentleness and sensitivity of an event that welcomes everyone on their own terms is highly valued. Hooray for ongoing recovery………

If you’d like to give a talk, have a skill to pass on get in touch with Rose and Joan’s coffee morning 10am-12 midday Thursday at Lutterell Court Community Centre, off Uppingham Crescent NG2 7LN

Someone bakes every week: the crossover in the friendship networks from Lutterell, Rugby, Walcote housing and community centres means that people share, enjoy and learn together: the regular activities like bingo at the three community centres have kept people safe, stable, sane and hopeful since the pandemic.

Everyone is keen for the community centres to host more events and activities now: if you want to do something email opencitydesign at gmail dot com

We’ll be giving more information as to how this can happen in the next article.

The kindness, understanding and willingness to participate, contribute and share of the Metropolitan community is a real sign of health and purpose. A round of applause for all the players: watch this space for more info!