Testimonials
See below two testimonials recounting past experiences from two former Griffin residents.
Helen Colver
I think the thing that I will remember most about Griffin was the sense
of community it engendered. Despite living in the East End you could
guarantee that at least once a day you would meet someone in the street
who would say 'hello'. Students and Shaftesbury residents looked out
for each other, and both good and sad news travelled fast.
We had so many great events it is hard to single out a few - during my
four years we covered Kew Gardens, the London Eye, boat trips on the
Thames, musicals, dinners... and that's just off the top of my head.
One day trip to the Hop Farm in Kent culminated in the students
competing in a tug of war with the residents cheering from the
sidelines. Evenings in playing bingo were a great chance for everyone
to get to know each other, and for students to memorise the residents'
favourite tipples - very important for a
smooth-running event!
At the end of my time in Griffin, the residents and other students
organised a send-off for the cohort of us who were leaving. I remember
being so touched by all the people who had taken time to come and wish
us well, and I think that captured the essence of the Griffin Community
Trust: a group of people of people of all ages and backgrounds who have
a great deal to offer each other in terms of support, advice and
friendship.
Ben Underwood
My memories of geography lessons at school are of an endless rehash of
the ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors that cause people to migrate. My
decision to move to Griffin House was (though on a smaller scale)
similar in the forces that caused me to do so.
I think I was pretty much the first ever person to move in to Griffin
House. My previous rented house in Bethnal Green had been at the
very bottom end of the available rented accommodation in the East End.
The eclectic collection of second hand furniture gave the lounge an
appearance reminiscent of Steptoe’s yard but it was the lack of hot
water over winter that had been the last straw. I stayed in
London to work over the summer holiday and not unreasonably couldn’t
wait to leave. Naturally the landlord retained our deposits
though so poor was the condition of the house even when we moved in it
is hard to imagine how he might have identified any damage which we
might have caused.
Going to Griffin for the first time was a fabulous experience. It
was brand new and fully equipped. I could look forward to living
as a normal member of society in the highest quality of housing.
Best of all was bountiful hot water. It was a moot point as to
whether I or the rest of my firm was most pleased about this.
Though Miss Walker and Dr Mills were not completely unformidable as
landlords (who would want to call them and admit to a carelessly broken
window?) they were scrupulously professional and trustworthy, with no
wrangles over repairs or deposits. Almost beyond belief it was
cheaper than any other accommodation available. It sounded too
good to be true.
The essence of Griffin is of course the sharing of the facility for the
elderly. The man who was to be the individual I saw was similarly
one of the first elderly residents. He was already in his
nineties and had a very sad story. He originally came from a
large East End family. He had married though his wife was long
deceased. They did not have children and this was a source of
continuing sadness to him. His siblings were deceased and he had
little contact with his nieces or nephews. Thus he had become one
of the curious people with a large family and life long attachment to
the area but now almost totally isolated. He too had been living
in very poor quality council accommodation prior to moving to
Shaftsbury lodge. His neighbours seemed to have serious problems
of their own and, I think, intimidated him. He had clearly been
very unhappy. Griffin provided a new start for him and it took
some time to break down his natural suspicion of such a new
environment. When I first met him he asked me ‘but what are you
going to DO’. I admitted I didn’t know - but was quite willing to
make it up as we went along. Initially our conversations revolved
around football but as time went by a genuine friendship
developed. He spoke freely about his family, his life and the
East End. I enjoyed spending time with him and I hope he felt the
same way.
When the student flats started to fill up I had a certain amount of
apprehension. We were a disparate bunch with equally disparate
reasons for moving in. What if people didn’t ‘pull their weight’
and didn’t spend any time with the elderly? A fabulous idea which
had appeared as a result of an unimaginably large amount of hard work
on the part of so many people could fail due to the sloth and
selfishness of a few. It is true to say that there were a small
number who did not involve themselves with the elderly though these
people clearly did not enjoy the experience as a whole and quickly left
of their own volition. The clear majority threw themselves in
with gusto.
Each student saw ‘their’ elderly person for one hour once per
week. On top of that spontaneous events were organized every
week. This took the form of beetle drives, bingo, musical
evenings and ‘special occasions’. Examples of the latter
included Toby’s fireworks night (bringing back memories of Rick Mayall
and Adrian Edmonson’s ‘dangerous brothers’), annual barbecue and boat
trips. Organisation was not all one way traffic. One
ex-leiterman sorted out the river trips. Some of the elderly
residents baked cakes. Better still 2 ex publicans turned a spare
room in to a bar which they stocked and ran. Opinions were
regularly canvassed on both sides to make sure people had the
opportunity to shape was what happening.
After all the effort the founders of Griffin had put in it must have
been an enormous temptation to control how the project was unfolding -
after all it was ‘their’ project and we were new arrivals who had thus
far contributed nothing. Remarkably the Griffin committee managed
to resist this and we were pretty much left to our own devices.
The success of the scheme was initially due in part to the tolerance
and flexibility of the Warden (Paul Mason) and the enthusiasm and
talent of the first student representative, Tom Nicholson.
As the project gathered pace other people began to take an interest in
Griffin. Radio 4 came to interview us (though gallingly I didn’t
get on) and Lords and Ladies came to visit. On one occasion we
were under strict instructions to clean up the flats and ‘stand by our
beds’. An effort of some sort was made (everything swept in to
the handy large cupboard at the end of the corridor). I can tell
you that even forewarned; it is a shock to answer a knock at your own
front door to find Princess Anne and the Bishop of London there.
Both were charming, though Princess Anne expressed her surprise that we
were watching TV when she arrived rather than studying. We
assured her that it was a rare break in a busy study schedule.
She clearly did not believe us.
On another occasion Dr Mills organized a reception and I agreed to
arrange a brass quartet from amongst the student residents to provide
some music. All started rather well and the dignitaries
arrived. Circulating waiters offered us wine. We gratefully
accepted the offer. The waiter came back - and offered us some
more. This was great. There was a brief period where all
was perfect. Then the music started to deteriorate. By the
end it was truly appalling and we had to stop. What had gone
wrong (apart from the obvious)? We later realized that we had
mixed up the trumpet and trombone parts. Curiously enough we had
failed to notice that we were in the wrong clef. I am not sure Dr
Mills quite managed to see the funny side.
Of course we were all supposed to be studying medicine or
dentistry. Exam times added extra camaraderie but the evenings
for the elderly and the visits did not stop. In fact a useful
sense of perspective (all too easy to lose in the goldfish bowl of
medical school) was very useful. The shared resources of 28
students of various stages of their undergraduate career was also
helpful, as was the simple availability of somewhere warm, dry and
quiet to study. Many in Griffin did well in finals and our
accommodation had its part to play in this success. Though the
first individuals in to Griffin might not have chosen to live together
a real community spirit developed and friends were made. 10 years
later I am still in touch with four of my ex-housemates from Griffin.
What of friendships with the elderly? The man I saw weekly sadly
became unwell towards the end of my time in Griffin. He developed
an oesophageal carcinoma and was admitted to the London shortly before
I qualified. As is so often the case with that particular tumour
his passing was not easy. I hope a familiar face in hospital
might have made his experience less frightening but his expression
suggested otherwise. At least his last years were spent in decent
accommodation and with company. When he died my colleagues held
my bleep without a murmur so I could attend his funeral. Holding
the on call medical bleep at the London at that time was not for the
faint hearted. The unhesitating willingness of my colleagues to
help me spoke volumes about the acceptance of Griffin amongst my
peers. Even today I continue to feel the benefits of living in
Griffin house. I am about to become a father for the second time
but I also wish to pursue a less well remunerated academic
career. My student debts were considerable as it was - without
Griffin they would have been much worse. This is even more
relevant today where the financial burden on students is greater still.
Griffin is a truly extraordinary institution. It is in fact so
extraordinary that when I tell people about it (as I often like to do)
I am not sure people altogether believe me. For Veronica White to
have rallied support and together with Peter Mills raise the money
required is noteworthy enough. To have overcome the obstacles to
turning the money in to a successful reality is arguably even more
so. The real wonder of Griffin however is not the achievement in
making it a reality but in the original concept. Veronica had the
idea as a medical student (when beset by numerous other distractions)
and it was a brilliant and selfless one that is in the best traditions
of alumni of the London Hospital such as Dr Barnado. It would
only be just if in time the founders of Griffin are accorded the same
respect. I am delighted it has been so successful for the first
ten years of its existence and I hope that it goes from strength to
strength from here. It is a unique phenomenon to which many
(including myself) owe so much.
