The Process of Making ‘The Old Cow in the Kitchen’, by Lynda Waterhouse

 

Here is the film.

This is how the project took shape.

https://www.londonsscreenarchives.org.uk/title/22456/

Ideas form and take shape

Rewind to the late 1990s, a piece of graffiti on a wall in the Elephant and Castle said:

A fungus grows on our collected Dickens

Back home I took the line and added one of my own to make a poem.

The soil of the Elephant makes rich pickings

Like a demented Cassandra I wailed on and on about how the developers will move in and destroy/sell off the area and that opportunities must not be wasted.

I never finished the poem to my satisfaction. It languished in my unfinished drawer.

In the 2010s I began a poem, ‘The Marmalade Ladies’, inspired by two older sisters, Marian and Jessie, who made tons of delicious marmalade to sell every year at West Square Summer Fete.

 I never finished this poem either. It also languished in my unfinished drawer.

Fast forward a decade or so and, as part of a campaign group set up to protest at the high rise land grab by off-shore developers, I met Marian who was now in her 90s. She told me she was leaving to move into sheltered accommodation.

There was no time to waste languishing or otherwise. Her memories needed to be captured.

Encouragement

So many people offered encouragement and support. There was a neighbour, John, who had lived in the area all his life, and was a treasure trove of stories, photographs and connections. There was Ludmilla, a film maker and housing co-op member. We’d recently worked together (with no funding) to make a short film about housing co-ops: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irrF_AdbaKI&t=513s

Our Local councillor, Maria Linford-Hall, encouraged me to apply for some funding from Southwark Council’s Neighbourhood Fund. A local historical society agreed to vouch for me and manage the funding. We started visiting and recording Marian and John began to write down his memories.

The End Goal

At first our goal was simply to make a short film capturing memories, put on an event, and stay in budget.

Experimenting in style

We began by recording conversations loosely based around a theme but trying to capture the feel of a conversation between friends rather than a specific interview. We did experiment with a more traditional question and answer approach but it just didn’t work.

The idea changes shape and the End Goalposts shifted

John kept on writing, Marian kept sharing, AND we discovered Marian’s father’s photographs and felt that his work needed to be exhibited at the event.

I invited some people to sing and for local poet, Paul Taylor, to recite some of his poems. I finished the ‘Marmalade Ladies’ poem and dared myself to read it. We made John’s writing and photos into a booklet. There was a memory table for people to share their memories. The End Goal had shifted.

Celebrating is not showing off

By nature I am an introvert. I am also a product of my northern working class background where any attempt to push yourself forward was considered ‘making a show of yourself.’ This had to be worked on.

So, during this process I learned that ideas can take a long time to shape and form and sometimes they are developed in unexpected ways. It’s always good to have an End Goal to work towards but, once you start writing, expect it to change in surprising ways and embrace that change. Experimenting in style is a good thing because you can tell what doesn’t work as well as what does, and always take time to celebrate your achievements!