General Chat

Our road was on the edge of a new council estate and most people moved in around the same time,early 1950s, families with children of roughly the same ages, when I was small. It meant we looked out for each other and as others have said, called the adults Aunty and Uncle. Some people bought their houses as times changed and as the other elderly folk died or moved out, younger less caring people moved in who only cared about their own families and weren't interested in joining in the community spirit.

Even the street I moved into in 1987 has changed beyond recognition. It doesn't have any Social Housing altho there are council flats in the next street. As many of the older home owners died or moved into sheltered accommodation, the houses were updated and many turned in HMOs meaning a turnover of student tenants and several cars to each house, causing traffic and parking problems. It just doesn't feel the same any more.

I watched the programmes about benefit capping and how it affected people in London, it was awful to see families being shunted off to Birmingham, Luton and such with no consideration for the lost family support or interrupted schooling of the children. I felt really sad for them all.

Lizx

Even though it was South East London the road we lived in had many long term tenants with tenancies being handed down through the same familes ,

Mum and dad knew all the neighbours on first name terms but we were brought up to call all of them auntie or uncle because it wasn't polite to use an adults first name .

It was the accepted way that children knew their place and that adults were treated with respect

What I have realised over the last few years is that if a school is very good or has improved greatly in status then people move to the area so their children go to that school, you then end up with big name supermarkets taking over village shops, the village becomes a town and it all becomes impersonal, there used to be 3 or 4 generations of families here but not anymore, same with the village/town I grew up in.

Sadly that is the way with Social Housing today - no matter how long you have lived in an area and whatever family connection you have, it is always assessed by the 'points' of your housing needs. :-(

I was brought up in a small mining village, and I knew everybody as granny. grandpa, uncle or aunty - this name or that name, everyone helped everyone else in the village, alas that sort of community are few and far between these days, it seems that dismantling communities not creating them, is the norm in this day and age :-(

CAROL,I AGREE FAMILIES WHO CARE FOR ELDERLY RELATIVES ARE SAVING THE GOVERNMENT A FORTUNE,THE SAME GOES FOR GRANDPARENTS WHO LOOK AFTER THEIR CHILDRENS ,CHILDREN ?,,BUT WHAT DO COUNCILS DO
SPLIT FAMILIES TO DIFFERENT TOWNS NOT ALL VILLAGES HAVE FREQUENT
PUBLIC TRANSPORT SO LOTS OF YOUNG GIRLS ARE STUCK ON THEIR OWN

WE NEED TO TRY AND GET FAMILY ENVIRONMENTS BACK

Thinking about something mentioned on another thread

I grew up in a small village & have lived in a neighbouring one for the last 40 years.
A child would often marry & bring up their children in their own parents house. This worked well as the elder parents helped with child care & later they in turn were cared for in their own homes. If children had to move out of the area for employment they knew that neighbours & close friends would be there should their parents need assistance. Tenancies passed down the family as the older generation passed on.
To help with the need for more housing in the area, small 1&2 bedroom pensioners’ bungalows were built. My own Mother moved out of the large family house into one when she could no longer cope with stairs. She loved her little place, “Just right for me, a bedroom, a sitting room, a kitchen, a bathroom & a wee garden to dry my clothes in”. Although not in the family home she was still in the same area & could continue going to her Clubs & Village Bingo. I lived close by & she was surrounded with people she had known for years. A ‘curtain code’ was used each morning to show neighbours that they were all ok. Mum was able to remain in her own home until at 93 she had a stroke & fell badly breaking her ankle.
The new points system does not seem to take into account the need to keep communities together. A short time ago a friend had to move from the accommodation that went with her job when she finely retired at 70. There was an empty bungalow in the village & we had all hoped that she would get it as 2 of her children live here, but she was given one 8 miles away in another village & a 40 year old stranger to the area got the one in this village. The explanation as to why was that he was disabled so needed to be where he could easily move around. The bungalows are identical neither having doorways suitable for wheelchairs? Since taking the tenancy he has spent little time there as he lives with his lady friend in her house 10 miles away, just coming out here on the bus to pick up his post.
I know that there is a great need for family accommodation, but if you have spent years caring for an elderly relative in their own home, saving the country £’s, do you not deserve to be given the automatic right to remain in that home, surrounded by those who have supported you?