Our stall at the Old Ford, Bow Festival

 

Tea and cake with The Geezers – our stall at the Old Ford, Bow Festival

Local history sleuthing is hungry work... so busy was our tea and cake stall at the Old Ford, Bow Festival that after the first day, our kitchens were a whirl of activity to restock for the second!

A community festival organised by our very own Carolyn Clark, author of Tales from Old Ford and Bow and staged by local club The Geezers, the Old Ford, Bow Festival featured The Geezers' history and photography project, games, music, art workshops, pearly kings and queens and a warm welcome.

It was a joy to be part of it. A big East End WI thank you to Carolyn and The Geezers for inviting us. Thanks to all of our members who baked and helped. A special thank you to Clare for coordinating and looking after us all, and to Natasha for technology wrangling.

Pictures by Christine, Karen, Pam and Lydia 

Our April talk

Ambridge in Bethnal Green – Janet Beck on The Archers

Our very own Janet Beck had an enthusiastic audience... so popular is The Archers that comedian Billy Connolly once suggested that its signature tune be used as the national anthem. The signature tune was one of the papers at last year's Academic Archers conference, more of which, later. 

The Archers started on Whit weekend in 1950 but its official start was in 1951 and it's our longest-running radio series, with its own archivist.

Janet became a listener somewhere in the mid-1960s, in the school Summer holidays. Janet's father was looking after her. He would usually switch off the radio after The World at One but this time they listened on – and they were both hooked. There was an Archers-based school rebellion, which resulted in Janet's radio being confiscated. In a year in Germany without access to it, Janet would get letters from her father telling her what was going on – with a bit of family news as a 'by the way'.

Janet entered a competition for the most extreme place in which someone had listened to The Archers: in the Royal Free hospital, while being induced...

Before she worked for Hansard, Janet's job was producing radio commercials and they would try and get Archers actors. 

Janet has been in the Eddie Grundy fan club – and in the winning team at a fan club quiz. Janet spoke of how the show connects people; how its characters feel like mutual friends. That was demonstrated in the lively chat at our meeting, of characters, plot lines, actors, unfeasibly fit and active elderly characters, loves, dislikes, accents and their role in being able to tell characters apart, how characters have been written out, biscuit varieties (we were split on the Garibaldi), bell-ringing protests, influence, disability and how topical stories such as inheritance tax and domestic abuse find their way into the series. Family came into our chat too, whether people gathered round the radio or Archers-listening was part of our family folklore.

The Academic Archers started when two women met at an academic conference, found a shared interest in The Archers, put a call-out for papers and held their first conference in London. The papers are peer reviewed. Janet has been to conferences in London, Sheffield, covered by a Telegraph journalist (Janet has a mention in the piece, pictured above) and during Covid, on Zoom. This grew – they met on Saturday mornings to watch a paper being presented. This grew to in-person gatherings. Janet suggested a conference centre where she went regularly on sewing retreats. Last year, the Saturday group and sewing retreat coincided and the two groups got on well. One of the most exciting papers has been from someone who has been in Afghanistan, on insurgency in The Archers.

There was a question about whether anything similar existed in other countries. The Reardons was mentioned, in Ireland. Australia and New Zealand seemed likely candidates. New Zealand had The Archers, but some years ago, stopped broadcasting. There was outrage... but listeners found other ways to tune in. More on where the show is broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 The Archers FAQ.

Could listeners tell who had written an episode, as crossword regulars recognise the setter? Yes, said Janet, with some insights into writers and into the layout of a script – to the side, with space for notes.

And what about the authenticity of the stories? There are advisors and consultants, including for the 'bury your Y-Fronts' storyline (we are not making this up – it's for soil testing).

The WI gets bad press in The Archers – there are regular complaints about hall use and competing stalls...

New listeners are brought in with current storylines and younger characters. But what of future storylines? Even the actors who know can't tell.

A massive East End WI thank-you to Janet for a very popular, lively meeting. See Janet's quilts in the upcoming exhibition Quilts at the Library, at Swiss Cottage Library, 88 Avenue Road London NW3 3HA, from 3 June to 3 July. 

Our April coffee morning: Friday 25th April – Targa Green Cafe, 137 Tredegar Road, E3 2EU, meet between 10.30 and 11.00

A welcome return to Targa Green Café, conveniently on the 339 bus route or a short walk from the No.8 stop on Parnell Road.

Our April walk

 

An East End art crawl and some heritage – our April walk

Alison writes: "A lovely amble down the canal from Bow Wharf, amazing textiles at the Art Pavilion followed by the Green Bridge and refreshments at the Ragged School Museum. Serendipitously St Dunstan’s in Stepney was open so we had a quick peek, on to the farmers’ market at Stepney City Farm and finally to the mural in Sidney Street. which sadly we missed the unveiling of. More refreshments and entertainment rounded off the day."

At the exhibition, Alison picked out the E, the W and the I from an alphabet piece, pictured above.

Christine adds: "A very enjoyable wander. And we saw Sir Ian McKellen at the mural unveiling!"

Find out more about the Prism textiles exhibition 'Any Other Business', the Sidney Street mural and the siege of Sidney Street.

Fancy joining us for a walk? Look out for our 'coming up' blogposts and if you're a member, for our monthly e-newsletter.

Pictures by Alison, Christine and Dawn

Coming up in April

An art crawl, The Archers, a green café and a community festival – coming up in April

Our monthly walk: Saturday 12th April – an art crawl! Meet at Bow Wharf, outside the Blue Ivy cafe on the Regents canal side, E3 5SH, at 11.00.  

Join us for a social walk and an opportunity to take in something of the wonderful art installations and exhibitions currently on show in our neck of the woods.

We will walk the length of Mile End Park.; dropping into the Arts Pavilion on the way to view Any Other Business, by Prism Textiles.

Then we continue through the length of the park leaving at Mile End stadium and make our way to Sidney Street for the exciting launch of The Sidney Street Heritage Mural. 

The energetic may want to head on to Cody Dock's Spring Forward event, where there will be workshops, activities, a plant stall and a bridge roll; or to The Brady Centre for Balance, a group exhibition inspired by last summer’s residential at King Charles’ Garden and Traditional Crafts Centre at Highgrove.

Our monthly meeting: Thursday 17th April 7pm for 7.30pm, St Margaret’s House, 21 Old Ford Rd, London E2 9PL, entrance via the gates

Our very own Janet Beck on “Everything you ever wanted to know about The Archers, Academic Archers, friendship, knitting and related silliness”

Janet’s talk and the photo speak for themselves this month; If you’re not already a devotee of one of the world’s longest running soap operas, prepare to be converted……..

Thanks to Janet for stepping in as our planned speaker is unable to join us.

If you are coming to one of our meetings for the first time, please contact us for more details on access to our venue.

Our monthly coffee morning: Friday 25th April – Targa Green Cafe, 137 Tredegar Road, E3 2EU, meet between 10.30 and 11.00

A welcome return to Targa Green Café, conveniently on the 339 bus route or a short walk from the No.8 stop on Parnell Road.

Visit our tea and cake stall at the Old Ford and Bow Community Festival, at the Ecology Pavilion, Mile End Park, 26th and 27th April

The Geezers write, "We have been exploring the history of where we live, the threads which connect the past with the present and have run a photography project, ‘Roman Road Faces’, recreating scenes from the past. We are showcasing the findings at this free community festival which will have a history exhibition, art exhibition and workshops, stalls and games, music and more. The event will also launch our local history map, which will be given out free at the event, and a new book, Tales of Old Ford, Bow."