What needs to change?

The topic last week was to interview someone about "what needs to change".  Havering Libraries' Lead Member, Cllr Andrew Curtin, kindly came to be interviewed by the young people.  The person in the background was David from the Reading Agency who popped down to meet the young people and stimulate some of the conversations. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Really hope you enjoyed watching the videos!

More videos of the Mayoral interviews

Its taken a while to get these converted, but finally they are done....

 

 

 

 

Hope you enjoy watching them

 

Video of Interview with Mayor

I am going to post these videos up as they are ready - so they will be appearing over the next few days - here is the first one of some of our Social Reporters interviewing the Mayor of Havering, Cllr Lynden Thorpe, about her best day!

 Well done to our reporters!  Look out for more videos....

Best Day!

Lyndan Thorpe, Mayor of Havering, was asked in an informal interview to describe her best day; interestingly, she chose to describe both a teenage and more recent memory.

From a casual Stevie Wonder gig with a group of close friends, to a truly humbling meeting and greeting of 250 Royal Anglian Troops; Lyndan perfectly reveals the transition from adolescence to adulthood, and how amazing experiences can affect you for the rest of your life. The soldiers represented the young generation and what our boys are doing for our country.

It came as a great surprise to me that Lyndan Thorpe did not choose meeting Her Majesty the Queen as her best day. The official opening of Drapers Academy was the cause of the Queen’s presence in Havering; as the Mayor, it was Lyndan Thorpe’s duty to meet and greet her.

When questioned as to why this was not the day the Mayor chose to isolate as her best, she replied ‘the nerves of having the event run smoothly caused my first glance of the Queen to be a surreal blur’. She then added ‘However, when the official ceremony was over and I got the chance to speak with Her Majesty, the softly spoken, gently woman proved that her presence was not one to be intimidated by’.

Interviewing the Mayor of Havering made me wonder, does age affect your views on best days in your life? I have realised that it is not necessarily meeting people with status that creates best days in our lifetime; it’s those who you can relate and connect too that leave a lasting impact.

Georgia

Meeting the Mayor

Over the years, a lot of things have changed and our likes are one of them. This week at the Dickens Social Reporters, we interviewed the Mayor of Havering, Councillor Lynden Thorpe about her best day. After having a chat, we got some rather unexpected answers. Surely you would guess that meeting the Queen would be number one on her list, wouldn’t you? Well apparently not…

We started off by asking her about her best day as a teenager. She told us all about the Stevie Wonder concert she saw with her friends at the Ilford Palais. It was one of his first concerts, and he played the harmonica. She described it as an amazing and spectacular experience.

Then we got on to the topic of her best day as mayor. She started off by telling us that meeting the Queen was a close second, but her favourite memory just topped that. The Military parade made her see that our community is very close and caring. Soldiers who had just come back from Afghanistan marched through the streets of Romford. It was made even better by the crowds of people out on the streets, supporting the people who fight for our country. Councillor Thorpe talked to the soldiers and their families, and they were all very optimistic. The whole community supported them, and it really was something that would put a smile upon your face.

Overall, it was a lovely experience meeting the Mayor, and we would like to thank her for coming to talk to us.

By Abigail

My World

Our new group of Dickens Social reporters started and their first challenge was to post up photos of things that typified their world.....

Here are the images and words which Abigail produced.....

"Nearly all teenagers are connected to at least one social networking website, be it Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr. We all like to keep in touch with our friends, and the fact that you can access these sites on mobile phones makes them even more popular and well used. It is quite unlikely that you will find a teenager without Facebook, or even Internet access."

"Music is a huge part in our lives nowadays, so much that the genres we listen to are associated with our status groups: Arty people are likely to listen to indie rock or metal, popular people are likely to be associated with pop music e.t.c. A lot of people are now interested in playing musical instruments, such as the guitar, as well."

"School also plays a big part in our teenage lives. With homework every day and over 6 hours in school, we constantly have thoughts in the backs of our minds. With exams to be thought about, and detentions to avoid, we're always thinking about it. "

 Thanks so much Abigail, for your insight into your world!