PLAY SWAP behind the scenes: Day 2 of filming

Second day of filming the upcoming PLAY SWAP film as Michael and I wandered Walworth again absorbing the wealth of knowledge and stories from local people as well as stocking up on a bit of visual context...

Today we spoke to East Street shop owners from Pakistan who told us about playing football and cricket from behind their butcher's counter and between the upside-down chicken heads then Luis, a local boy we met playing in the park with the soon-to-be-cut Southwark Play Team. Luis was a brilliant interviewee, keenly telling us about games he plays in the local area including the well-known Run Outs, as well as Family It and Camouflage as well as highlighting his love for the local park. 

We also had a fascinating chat with Ricky, a member of staff with the Southwark Play Team which sets up a bouncy castle as well as art activities in Nursery Row Park every Monday and Wednesday. Ricky has grown up on the Aylesbury Estate and spoke to us about the effect the architecture of the space has on its participants, most notably the council's removal of bridges linking the blocks together to prevent easy escape for burglars, but also severing the communal pathways between blocks, now creating hostility and very separate residential islands. 

Thursday is our last day of filming where we have some more exciting interviews lined up, ready to culminate over the next month in the production of PLAY SWAP's first short film. We will be screening the film at Pembroke House early September. Watch this space. 

Eleanor Shipman

PLAY SWAP

Dream homes with Surrey Square students...

Back to Surrey Square again today for another sunny lunchtime. Today I asked the pupils to draw their dream homes, a chalk-based continuation of 'Sweet Dream Homes', a pinata-making project I ran last year with Hub Art Youth Group - see the post on my other blog here. 

The pupils are always very keen to get involved, and I have had to bring backup supplies of chalk, felt pens and paper to keep everyone satisfied. There never seems to be enough, and the lunchtime is a mad 45 minutes with around 30 - 40 children taking part.

I was interested to see where the children would like to live if they could choose anywhere, particularly in light of the endless regeneration happening in very close proximity to Surrey Square School - bordering the edge of the vast Aylesbury Estate, whose blocks are currently being emptied. 

Castles, the tallest towers, palaces for princesses and big houses with trees, garden paths and lots of windows sprawled out across the Tarmac in a chaotic town planning blueprint. When asked why they chose their dream homes, they wanted more space, lots of room to move around in or to be very high up. I wonder what the new buildings will look like...

Eleanor Shipman

Pembroke People

PLAY SWAP: Installing rope swings on the Heygate!

Rope arrived today ready to make swings from the Heygate! So excited!



Meet at Pembroke House, 80 Tatum Street, SE17 1QR tomorrow at 4.30pm to come and swing from trees and buildings... 












Eleanor Shipman
Pembroke People

PLAY SWAP 2: Heygate Chalk Walk

Play Swap 2: Heygate Chalk Walk asked members of the Lunch Club to leave signs to encourage play in and around our area, running up into the Heygate where vast concrete walkways, walls and posts sit waiting for some life to be re-injected into them. 

Signs were left encouraging tree climbing and swinging, balancing, post-jumping and running, and our slightly less subversive and removable graffiti led us to some real wall art we saw being painted on the walls surrounding the allotment on the Heygate by artist Julian. We also met a local free-running enthusiast, who was soon chatted up by the ladies... 

The signs we made I am hoping to expand on in a later PLAY SWAP session, by painting and installing our own more permanent marks on our urban environment.