Monday 8 December 2014

Recordings: The Sunday Lunch Project at Ovalhouse 05/10/14 Question 5

In contrast to the last post, this question comes from our oldest-ever guest at a Sunday Lunch Project, a member of Ovalhouse's vibrant pensioners social group, the Stockwell Good Neighbours.

Question 5
How can I get the council to cut the trees on my street in Winter instead of Summer?


Monday 1 December 2014

The Sunday Lunch Project at Ovalhouse Fun Palace 5 October 2014


I've been a little (ok, very) slow in publishing the recordings from the last Sunday Lunch Project event at Ovalhouse in October. Mostly because it was a bigger event than usual and there were double the normal amount of questions to wrangle, but also because I've been alternating super busyness with hyper laziness and let it slip a little. Sorry about that. But anyway, here we are.

The Ovalhouse event was a simultaneously joyous and terrifying experience. For the first time, advance sign up wasnt required and guests could just turn up on the day - so I didn't know who (if anybody) would come or what they'd ask. I couldn't muster my thoughts on the questions  in advance or even make arrangements for any special dietary requirements. So it all felt a bit like I was flying by the seat of my pants. But as it turns out, sometimes that's a good thing.

Normally when I host events away from home, I'm an outsider turning up in an arts venue of some sort, I rock up, cook, eat, chat, wash up and leave. But this time was a bit different. As some of you might know, when I'm not trying to change the world through food based means, I'm also Co-Director of Theatre at Ovalhouse. Me and my brilliant co-director Rachel Briscoe had decided to include an SL Project event as part of Ovalhouse's Fun Palace weekend- which meant that not only was I on 'home turf' in a slightly unnerving way, but also that I'd be hanging out with some of the guests for a whole weekend rather than just a couple of hours. It meant that people could come and chat to me about what the project is about before and after the lunch, but also that they could carry on their conversations long after we finished the baked banana dessert. I caught several of the guests having a cuppa and a chin wag together later in the weekend - and it made me ponder; Is there a way to help people sustain the relationships, ideas and calls-to-action that always emerge at SL Project events in a more coherent reliable way? Maybe some sort of 'Survivors' group? An online forum? An annual knees up? Answers on a postcard please.

Anyway. For now, here's the first of nine questions that we talked about that day. Enjoy.

Question 1: How can I stop getting annoyed with selfish people in London?