Creative & Connected: August edition

Enjoy these simple and creative activities for people affected by dementia, their carers and loved ones from our Memories of London team. This month: the tastes of London!

Download activity pack

The title appears next to black and white photographs of past Londoners.

Whether you have a favourite Bangladeshi restaurant, know the best place to get pie, mash and liquor, or always preferred your mum’s homemade pizza, this month we’re exploring all things food related.

Listen to our London Lives podcast, get creative with our packs and join our team online for chat over a cuppa about London's past.

London Lives podcast

In this podcast series we delve into the rich stories of London’s people to create an audible journey to the past.

Each episode is inspired by an object from the Museum of London collection and shares the reflections of real Londoners and their London lives.

This month's episode

In this episode of London Lives, Amy and Marina, the Memories of London Programme Manager and Coordinator, forage through the fantastic world of food and identity, sharing captivating conversations with Londoners from different generations and backgrounds.

Inspired by a three-decade-old tin of dried ackees in the Museum of London collection, we weave our way through different London lives to discover delicious family delicacies, stories of migration and the joys of Caribbean carnival.

Click on the white arrow in the orange circle below to play this episode.

With great thanks to the following contributors for permission to share their stories and work:

Nafisa and Saami
Hubert and Thelma
Kamlesh, Sally and the rest of the team at Ashford Place, Brent
Atiba for his vibrant poem
Delphina James for providing the steel pan music
Aleema Gray, Community History Curator at the Museum of London Docklands

You can also click here to read a full transcript of this episode.

Combined television and wireless set. This home entertainment centre combines a radio with a television set. The casing was designed to blend in with contemporary furniture. Such items were available from 1936, but they were expensive - some cost as much as a car.

Share a story with us

Our next podcast will be all about entertainment.

What do you do for entertainment? Perhaps you listen to music, shop the latest fashions or visit the theatre?

This combined television and wireless set from 1935 was designed to blend in with contemporary furniture and cost as much as a car!

Do you have memories of the wireless, the cinema or music? What do you like now?

If you'd like to share your story, email [email protected] and we will get in touch to find out more.

Time for a cuppa

Illustration of a steaming mug in pink on a white background.

Put the kettle on

Join us for a brew and a natter

Why not join us for a live online session with our Memories of London team? We’ll be sharing objects from London's past, singing, moving and chatting together in this relaxing session.

Join us on Wednesday 9 September, 10.30-11.30am.

To take part please register by:

Emailing [email protected]

Or:

Calling 07780 504506 Monday-Friday, 9am-6pm (Standard network rates apply)

Activity pack

Simply click the following link to download a large-print PDF copy of this month's activity pack.

We recommend printing it off as it has activities to fill out, trace or complete, such as these:

Things to do and ways to create

Get your copy so you don't miss out!

You can also enjoy some of this month's Creative & Connected activity pack below:

Play with your food!

An illustration of pasta, herb leaves, an orange and a banana.

Ever been told not to play with your food? Well, now’s your chance to open the cupboard and use food for art!

London’s skyline is filled with iconic buildings – can you make one of them from food?

You could make it tiny or create a huge collective one.

Here are some ideas for materials to use...
Pasta or rice, herbs and spices or fruit!

Or you could...

Print using halved oranges or potatoes
Rearrange your dinner plates

Take a photo and share it with us at our Time for a Cuppa session.

Smell, touch and feel

A recipe card for a Citrus Bread Butter Pudding from the Sainsbury Archive, Museum of London Docklands

During the 20th century, London’s food scene became increasingly culturally diverse. Using herbs and different flavourings has become the norm for many.

This recipe card, produced by Sainsbury’s, encourages people to use oranges and lemons in their traditional bread and butter pudding.

Do you enjoy using spices or fragrances when cooking?

Find some spices, herbs, leaves or flowers in your cupboard or garden. Which ones smell best together?

Why not arrange them in a mould, pour water over them and freeze them?

On a hot day, watch the ice melt and enjoy the delicious fragrance as it's released!

Make a food museum

What foods are in your cupboards?

Perhaps some are family favourites, while others may have been in the cupboard for years. Arrange them like a museum display and write a short museum label for each item.

If you don't have it in your cupboard, you could draw it and make a mini art gallery instead.

Perhaps you have some ackees or a tin of dried eggs like these ones from the Museum of London collection.

What's the oldest tin you can find?

That's all we have for you this time, but remember to join us again next month!

You can find all the issues of Creative & Connected right here.

Creative & Connected: August edition