This month we are delighted to spotlight two wonderful and long-standing members of our community: Dot and Margaret!

Dot and Margaret are regulars at the Walworth Living Room, first visiting before the lockdown in 2020. Margaret has lived in Walworth her whole life, while Dot moved to the area 65 years ago and is currently chair of the Alberta Tenants and Residents Association. You’re likely to see them at the Living Room’s community brunches, which invites neighbours and residents to share a meal together. 

Describing the Living Room brunches as having a “communal” atmosphere, Dot emphasises that it’s the “camaraderie, really, of just sitting down, talking to one another while eating” that draws them both back again and again. According to the two friends, the Living Room has helped expand their thinking, with food being a central part of that. 

“Having the table out as well, there’s a mixture of different foods from different cultures which helps some to actually try new things,” Margaret explains, also mentioning that “it’s the interaction between everybody there. You know, regardless of our age or different cultures. It’s lovely, it’s relaxed, it’s freeing. To me, no one is having to put on an act. It isn’t a matter of ‘well I better be nice’ or ‘I don’t really want to be’”,  with Dot adding that “there is no falseness”. 

The Living Room has given both women the opportunity to learn and share their knowledge with others. Margaret explains that they would knit and crochet and ‘if anyone wanted to learn something, we’d sit and teach them’. 

More than just regulars at the Living Room, Dot and Margaret have played an important role in shaping the future of the space. Both were members of the Working Group created to ensure that members of our community could contribute to the rejuvenation of All Saints Hall – from the design and furnishing of the new site, to its purpose, values and programme of activities. 

The two can’t wait to see the fresh new space once it reopens on Friday 11th April 2025. For Margaret, the Living Room has a way of “bringing out a bit of the kid in you”, with Dot also highlighting how “marvellous and welcoming” it can be. 

If you’re interested in learning more about Dot and Margaret, come down to the Walworth Living Room once it reopens on the 11th. There’ll be lots of other friendly faces to meet you there!

Is there someone in Walworth who you’d like to see in our Community Spotlight series? Then please get in touch with our copywriter, Nikita Quarshie.