Nottingham’s Indian community head down memory lane

Older residents of Nottingham’s Indian community will be leading a trip down memory lane at Basford’s Indian Day Centre on Tuesday.

The centre, based at the Indian Community Centre on Rawson Street in Basford, will be exhibiting a collection of photos brought in by the service users, with their owners on hand to talk about their memories and earlier lives.

Staff at the centre, which provides a range of social and day care services to the local older Indian community, have worked in partnership with the Cross Cultural Network Group to set up the ‘Trip Down Memory Lane’ event. Service users from other local communities will be invited to attend the event from 11.30 am to 1.00 pm in a bid to raise awareness and understanding of each others’ cultures. The Cross Cultural Network Group comprises older people from various day care centres across the city and visits the centres to broaden cultural understanding among older people.

Amardeep Bhattal, Care Services Manager at the Indian Day Centre, said:

“Part of the work we do here and with partner voluntary groups is around raising awareness and promoting understanding of and respect for other cultures. We hope that this event will not only help the local communities better appreciate each other, but also raise awareness amongst the older people and staff here that, although many of our service users are now quite dependent on care, they have all led interesting and varied lives working as teachers, doctors or barristers, and bringing up their families.”

The display of photos will illustrate the earlier lives of the service users – at work, with families, and at special occasions such as weddings, and many of the images will move on from the day centre’s event to feature in Nottingham City Council’s ‘Memories Shop’ display, a one-off photography exhibition showcasing a stunning collection of images depicting life in Nottingham over the decades. The exhibition is being held as part of the city's celebrations to mark the opening of the Old Market Square and will include remarkable images depicting some of Nottingham's finest memories from Nottingham Forest's 1979 European Cup winners holding aloft their trophy for the crowds in the Old Market Square, to more poignant memories of men leaving for the frontline during WWI and WWII. Nottingham's landmarks can also be seen in all their glory - from Nottingham's famous Castle, to the grand Wollaton Hall, from the bustling Victoria Embankment to the city's enduring Old Market Square.

The Memories Shop collection will be on display from Monday 12 March until Saturday 24 March 2007 at the Old Beatties toy shop on Mount Street, round the corner from the city's Central Library, from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm, daily (except Sunday). However, the collection is incomplete - it needs your memories too. One wall is to be left blank and the council is inviting you to come along to Beatties with pictures of your Nottingham memories to add to the display. Every photograph received will be labelled and recorded. Simply bring in your photos with a stamped addressed envelope and we'll make sure you get your photo back at the end of the exhibition.