Making History

I'm delighted to be part of a new two year project that will record the history of a forgotten part of Brighton,  thanks to a  £49,700 grant by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). Tarner, the area around Carlton Hill, is in the heart of the city. Everyone knows it – if only because of the landmark American Express Building – and because it is a short, steep, walk from the Pavilion. Somehow though it has always been on the margins, but it is rich in working class history. Part of Brighton Rock was set in these streets and Graham Greene must have known the area well on his visits to Brighton. 

I will be Writer in Residence at Brighton Unemployed Centre - an inspirational community place that is run by the unemployed for the unemployed. It is already a hub of creative education running a range of exciting free and low cost educational classes from computer skills and belly dancing to Japanese for beginners. The Centre will train volunteers to gather the stories of ‘old Tarner’ by creating oral history recordings, photographs and artwork evoking the past. But we will also focus on what is happening in Tarner right now - a book and an exhibition will come out of the project and lots of other creative things...