As part of the Deptford Literature Festival, Meet Me (a project from Entelechy Arts and Albany) elders had the pleasure of working with poet Laurie Bolger and artist Barbara Majek at the start of 2025.

Over six weeks the artists worked with members of Meet Me exploring and experimenting with poetry and creative collaging. With joy, mindfulness and creativity at the heart of the sessions Laurie’s writing prompts and activities led to the development of the theme Garden of Memories. Members shared their stories and memories, and the importance of food and nature emerged as a way to explore cultural experiences and build connections and community. Tuesday mornings in the Albany Café were filled with music, poetry and laughter!

For many members this was the first time they had tried or written any poetry, but over the six weeks, their confidence grew, proudly sharing poet names and their pieces of writing aloud. In response to the written pieces Barbara introduced imagery and techniques of fabric collage, mono printing and embroidery for members to transform their words and stories into visual sketches. The playful collaboration between artists, members and volunteers lead to a tapestry/quilt of elders’ stories, embracing their individual styles and responses, with everyone’s voices being represented on a textile banner. The Garden of Memories banner was displayed at Deptford Lounge.

This project exists thanks to Meet Me members Moira, Ertac, Norma B, Ibrahim, Valda, Lorraine, Rosemary, Ron, Christine, Geri, Beryl, Juno, Jeanie, Irene, Rita, Diane, Catherine J, Stanford, Fanny, Pauline, Stella, the Meet Me volunteers, and the artists Laurie and Barbara.

Garden of Memories was commissioned by Spread the Word as part of the Deptford Literature Festival in partnership with Meet Me and supported by Arts Council England. Meet Me is a partnership project between Entelechy Arts and Albany.

Garden of Memories 

Poems and text from the tapestry banner – from top to bottom

Running along the seafront  

In Brighton with my little nephew 

Philip in 1986 on a beautiful 

summers day with the gorgeous 

fresh air so sweet and how  

happy we were laughing together 

I kept my cotton shirt from that day  

for years as it smelt of that lovely  

day 

Laughter fills the room 

My heart is in the stars 

but I owe my dad  

£8. I’ll jump on  

my motorbike 

and pay 

him back one day! 

On my way to buy a  

cheeseburger,  I saw 

some people playing 

skittles in the middle of the  

road, stopping traffic! 

It was nighttime and there was an orange star 

shining down from the sky! 

I got my cheeseburger and went home to play chess  

and won the game with my knight! 

Sea Love 

Fresh Air 

Place me outside in the hills 

Train going some place 

Fish Bar 

Grapefruit 

A big juicy  

grapefruit 

sweet and bitter 

tingles my tongue 

eaten 

messily over 

the sink 

juice dripping  

down my chin 

I went for a walk with 

my pink leopard 

we saw an orange dinosaur 

picking cherries 

the flowers said hello 

Banana 

Milk 

Pasta 

Kitchen Paper 

Drinking Tea in the garden 

is a great memory, it tasted  

so sweet, just like fresh air 

Mushroom soup 

In a big fat  

bowl 

my sister & me eat 

pretending we are in a 5*  

restaurant but always from  

a tin.                     Yum! 

Be Happy! 

You are 

the noodles 

I need right 

now 

Settled Nomad 

Slipping away  

Sliding 

Party Pauline 

Music, rice, gold 

dance, Meet Me 

Solero  

Ice Lollies