Centre of the Community? – Observational Research

Having realised that many of my preconceived ideas of the ‘ran down’ Community Centre have been well and truly shattered during recent visits, I decided to join the Adult Art Class on a Friday lunch time, with a completely open mind. My beliefs that the session was going to be a room full of elderly people all sat behind large easels and being surrounded by small pots of water paints was to be eradicated from my mind and to be replaced with a (to mind the pun) clean canvas.

So, once again I entered the large hall of the Centre filled with first day nerves and once again I was shocked by the sight I was faced with. As I entered I noticed that my mere presence had reduced the average age by around 30 years, as each member of the group that were already assembling their easels were beyond retirement age.

As I introduced myself to the teacher and reiterated what I had explained to her over the phone, I felt a little uneasy. It is the first time I have felt this way in the Community Centre, however, I was getting the impression that this was a serious class and my mere immaturity and lack of age excluded me from being an asset to the session.

I decided to grin and chat excessively to the members however, in an attempt to win them over with my charm. I was soon to find that this was to be a losing battle. Each of my attempts to make conversation was stalled by the polite, yet firm, reminder that the members were there to paint and to learn. It seemed to me that socialising was not a main priority of this activity, although this may have accounted for Natalie not being a regular member of these sessions.

The topic of the week was that of African Impressions, and all artists seemed totally enthralled by the imagery and stimuli’s used.  As we sat in silence staring at the large wooden African carving, I realised exactly how bad I was at drawing, and also how bored I was in this session. I struck me that the members were there for a purpose and unlike the other sessions I had observed that purpose was not to gain a sense of belonging or to be sociable.

I was extremely relieved when the room was informed that the session had come to a conclusion. Upon leaving the hall I noticed the magnificent work of art that had been created by Alma, the polite but firmly quiet lady. I started to remove my camera from my bag in order to take a picture of the image and to encapsulate the general feeling of the room, but as I looked around I started to feel too intimidated by the already suspicious stares. So I replaced my camera back in my bag and quietly thanked the group for allowing me to observe the session. The leader of the group nodded and said, “To be honest, love, we just come here to paint.  That’s all we like doing but we don’t get the time to do it at home.” I smiled and opened my mouth to ask her more this, but she turned away and started to pack her things up, so I politely left.

Upon returning home and contemplating the session, I realised that I was actually glad to have visited the Art Class. I highlighted to me that the Community Centre, although greatly enthused with sociability and enjoyment, it was a Centre for everybody, whether they are attending to gain a social life, weight loss, an education or even a couple of carrots; the centre had no criteria as to who was welcome or what you did once inside…

As I entered the Hall today I realised that I have previously spent a lot of my time considering the physical layout and atmosphere of the events I have attended.  The atmosphere within the Hall today was so electric and having noticed a few familiar faces from previous events, I set my mind to finding out about people’s usage of the facilities; I wanted to find out exactly what the Community centre meant to the people who use it.

Upon entering the hall, I noticed the small group of eccentrics crowded round the tape machine chatting to the teacher. Eccentrics is a strong word, but to be honest I for this group of people I think it is not strong enough. The well cared for Stetsons and polished-until-the-shined cow boy boots highlighted them as just that. Although as I looked around I noticed that my attendance in jeans and a t-shirt was not uncommon, however it seemed that to be a regular at the activity I would have to at least invest in a check shirt, which I later told were a ‘complete bargain from Primark’ by one of the overly welcoming ladies.

As I was early I was surprised to see I was the last person to arrive, but I decided to take the opportunity to chat to a few of the regulars. I decided to talk to Natalie who I recognised from my previous visit to the Weight Watchers meeting. She recognised me which made it extremely easy to start up a conversation. Only after about 90 seconds of talking to Natalie I felt like I had know her for ages and was extremely comfortable in asking her about herself…as she was asking me. I enquired about her use of the Community Centre and was quite pleased that she had managed to include herself in many of the activities it has to offer. I must admit since we were only talking for about 15 minutes prior to the start of the dancing I found out a great deal about her and the ethos of the Centre. Having only moved to the area 6 months ago she was relatively new to the joys Baldock had to offer, although she herself stated that she had managed to fit in with the community itself with great ease.

Having moved to Baldock with her husband and 8 month old daughter, not knowing anybody in the immediate vicinity, she thought of the prospect as extremely daunting. However, she seems to have emerged her free time in to the centre, filling many of her hours with activities that are on offer. She tells me of how she attends Music with Mums with he daughter,  whilst her husband is at work, as well as utilising the Friday Farmers’ Market and the cafe throug out the week. When I ask her what she gains from these activities she highlights how it enables her to keep the traditions of her own small-village childhood alive for her daughter, as well as giving her the social interaction she craved after being ‘cooped up in the house for 6 months’ during her maternity leave.

Without prompting or asking Natalie says of how welcoming and inclusive the other members of the Community Centre are irrespective of age, race, religion or even gender.  I get the warming feeling that Natalie views the time she spends at the Centre as invaluable and also an area where she can offer something back to the Community. This leads her on to telling me how she has plans to apply to be a committee member of the Centre, as they are looking for ‘new blood’ since the death of one of their elderly members.

At this point our conversation is interrupted as our attention is once again drawn back to the lines of people and the Country music beginning to play.

Although I was new to this and constantly 3 steps behind everyone else in the room, nobody cared that the teacher had to continually halt the dancing to show me the right way to place my feet. In fact, I was once again warmed by the inclusive feeling I gained from the members as each one of them tried to steer me in the right direction throughout my precession of mistakes. I am actually starting to appreciate what Natalie has told me about the feeling one gets from being part of a closely bonded community spirit.

At the end of the two hours I felt honestly exhausted. Unfortunately Natalie could not stay to talk after the session as she had to rush back for dinner with her family, but as she left she told me how she can be regularly found floating around the Centre ‘enjoying a good cream bun.’

Today I visited the Community Centre to observe a Weight Watchers meeting.  Upon entering the hallway I am greeted by a very cheerful and welcoming middle-aged lady. She beams at me and talks me through in great detail how to become a member of the ‘life style group’ that is Weight Watchers. Having filled out all my vital statistics on a carbon copy page I am then ushered in to the main hall and introduced to Julie, the ‘leader’. My fears that I am in the mist of joining a cult are soon contained when I am once more welcomed to the group and asked about my previous attempts to lose weight.

Having removed my shoes, and most of the clothes that I profess to being my heavy garments, I am told to ‘hop on the scales and check the damage’. After the shock revelation of being told my weight and paying for the privilege of being told I am fat, I notice the 10 women, ranging from 20-65 years old and from 10-25 stone in weight, all sat facing a large pin board chatting casually about their dietary intake. Upon walking across the room to the far corner I notice the vast amount of confectionery and sin-free food all branded with the Weight Watchers logo. I dutifully hand over my money for attending and proceed to view the vast range of life-changing gadgets to help you on the ‘road to success’.

I then took my newly purchased box of Weight Watchers Choc bars and sat in the crowd of lady. The chatter of the group echoes around the room and at times I find it hard to concentrate on one conversation as the volume is steadily increasing as more members arrive. There is then a sudden hush as the Julie walks in front of the crowd and begins by addressing each member in turn about their progress this week and the benefits that have reaped. As I look around the room I notice that all 20 chairs are taken up by beaming ladies all eager to hear how their counter-parts have achieved such good results this week. The whole group seem in good spirits, even the members who have gained weight, since their weeks antics have been received by the group with sympathy and gestures of good-will for the forth coming week.

Having asked each member in turn, Julie proceeds to pick up a small red box that contained a key ring. Their is a cheerful clap from the group as a member is presented with the box for losing 37 lb in weight which equates to 10% of her body weight. This was definitely an encouraging sign to the whole group.

Julie then highlights a few of the areas that have led the members to being with them today. Whether it was the over-eating for comfort whilst at home all day, the picking at food whilst cooking for the children or the grazing on fast-food during the hectic working day, with each story she told their was a murmur of agreement from individual members who would empathise with the fictitious characters’ plight.

Upon conclusion of the meeting, Julie read an inspirational poem, gearing the members up for the forthcoming week long battle against themselves, before wishing them all success and humorously stating that she ‘hopes to see less of you next week.’

Today I arrived at the Community Centre to see an old man dressed in ‘farmer-style’ clothes exitting the community centre, pulling a large cart full of vegetables behind him.  A large sign stood at the entrance saying ‘Baldock Country Market Here Today’.

As I entered the community centre eagerly, I was surprised to see that there was very little left in the indoor market despite it only having been open for a hour.  There were three main areas in the main room – a cards stall, an alluring cakes and jams stall and what looked to be extremely popular judging by the amount of carrot tops that were hanging from people’s bags, the vegetable stall.

The first thing that stuck me as I wandered towards the homecrafted cards wondering if I had any birthdays coming up, was that I was clearly the ‘new girl in town.’  Everywhere I looked, groups of OAPs would glance over and smile, welcoming me into their weekly activity.  I smiled back and caustiously approached the cards, taking a brief look across the table to admire the old lady’s work.

I then procedded to the now half-empty cake stall…In fact there were so few cakes remaining that I am able to list them all:

- Two large Victoria sponges (in true WI fashion)

- 3 Packets of star shaped biscuits

- 4 Packets of fairy cakes with chocolate icing

- 4 Packets of Millionaires Shortbread (which I swiftly made three…)

All the cakes looked very quaint lined up all the table, each with calligraphy writing scrawled across.

Next to the cake stand were the jams were an amateur baker stood proudly talking to an elderly couple who handled each jar carefully as they asked her about the contents.  I studied the orange and ginger marmalade in front of me with a carefully written label and decided that would go well on my toast in the morning.

Despite all the delicacies, it was clear before I even entered the market that the big seller here was the fruit and vegetable stall.  Now with only half an hour to go, there lay only a few freshly picked carrots, a packet of potatoes, three cabbages and a small mound of brocilli.  As I stood watching people come and go, a woman aided by a zimmer frame walked up to the vegetable seller and asked if there were any baking apples today.

“Sorry,” the greengroucer replied. ” We looked at picking them this morning but they were still wet.” A bemused looked crossed my face as I contemplated what seemed to be a rubbish excuse for the lack of baking apples.

The eldery lady however, nodded with agreement and remarked, “They were the only reason I came down here today but never mind.”

With my shortbread clutched to me, I wandered towards a table in the corner where two ladies stood, one with a calculator and one with a money box.  The two ladies were currently serving as I approached the table so I quietly stood behind the lady in front of me.  Although I was prepared to wait the 20-30 seconds it took the customer in front of me to count her money and pay for her two packets of broad beans and a Victoria Sponge, my wait came to a swift end as the card from the card stall rushed over to serve me.

I smiled at her as she slowly calculated the amount I had to pay. “Two…pounds….and one…pound…twenty…pense,” she began.  Just in time, the lady with the calculator finished serving the old lady in front of me and procedded to punch in the numbers to calculate the cost of my two items.

“Three pounds twenty,” she told the card lady.

“Three pounds twenty please,” the card lady told me.

I handed the card lady a five pound note who then passed it to the lady holding the calculator who then handed it the lady with the money box.  I waited for my change to be counted and passed back done the line before saying “thank you” to all three of them, “I don’t need a bag thanks.”

My purchases in hand, I walked slowly towards the cafe where I noticed a group of eldery ladies stooped over their tea cups.  Each of them of course, had a bunch of green carrot shoots hanging out of their shopping bags. I smiled and thought to myself, I must come earlier next week to sample some of those much-loved carrots!

Today I took initial photographs of the Community Centre and ventured inside to find that the building was empty aside from the coffee shop staff. This shocked me because I expected it to be lively and busy, full of people doing all kinds of actitivies.  Instead, it was eerily quiet and made me feel lonley and caustious.

To find out more about the actitivites on offer at the Community Centre, I studied the notice board and spoke to the lady beyond the counter in the coffee shop. She reassured me that the building is usually buzzing with people of all ages. She then gave me a brief overview of the types of acitivies on offer for the local community.  I found out that the Community Centre is open daily and the activites include:

- Yoga for the over 50′s

- French lessons for children

- Line dancing

- Dance lessons for all ages

- Knitting Club

- Sunday School

- A produce market

This visit has inspired me to visit the Comminty Centre at different times over a period of days throughout August in order to find out a sense of place through the eyes of the various local people who use the building.