Working at Age Concern in Appian Court in Bow, Hi8us South have been bringing together older and younger members of the local community to share memories and stories of growing up in Bow in the middle of the 20th century and at the beginning of the 21st century.

The first product of our work at Appian Court is the film Bow Then and Now, a collaboration between the senior citizens of the Geezers Club and boys from Bow Boys School. Using interviews with each other, personal and archive photos and reconstructions, the film is a portrait of the generations where experiences are both different and the same. The film was premiered at the 2010 East End Film Festival in April and is currently doing the film festival circuit.

We are currently working with the women’s group at Appian Court, Bow Belles to create the women’s response. We’re also developing a social media project to support the kind of exchange at the heart of this process among wider audiences. This has resulted from consultation with the older men and women currently keen on developing their IT skills and capitalising on the benefits that they see social media having for their less mobile, but highly social generation.

Supported by Old Ford Housing Association, Action for Bow and Comic Relief.