When did you come to Southall?

I came to Southall when I was two.

Why did you come to Southall?

My parents got a house here and decided to live here.

Where did you come and first stay?

I used to live Wembley.

How did you come to Southall?

 I came by a car.

What area in Southall did you grow up in?

I lived in Toplocks estate

So at school we’re doing this project called ‘Southall Stories’ and basically what we have to do, is collect stories and interview people that have lived here.  I need your help with this.

Okay.                                                                                                                                                                                            

When did you come to Southall?

I came during the 1970’s when I was about 5 years old or something.

Do you know why your parents chose Southall, why they came here instead of other places?

Well, I don’t actually know to be honest. My dad was a businessman so...

So did he move here because back then there were a lot of factories apparently?

Yeah actually there were a lot of factories but over time they moved out into different places where it was cheaper. That’s probably why he chose Southall to stay and work. He gradually just brought the whole family over, first my older brothers and their wives, my mum and then me.

Yeah, I guess that was probably the case with loads of people back then. Anyway, do you have any “Southall Stories” that you’d like to share?

Well, what I remember is that back then people used to use paraffin for their heaters. There was no heating otherwise.  This guy used to come around selling paraffin gas, and he used to ring a little bell outside and we’d have to go buy it if we wanted to keep warm. It used to get really cold in the winter.  If people didn’t buy it or forgot to they probably just sat at home with their jackets on.  Other than that school and everything was normal.

That’s cool; do you know anything about the “Southall riots” and Blair Peach?

Hmm…well they weren’t exactly riots, more of a gathering actually, or protesting or whatever. I was little then so I was at home but I remember my brothers and their friends leaving the house to go see what’s happening.  I saw his body though, Blair Peach’s. I remember seeing it outside of the school that he taught at.

Oh okay so do you have any memories of any major gangs from here?  Did you happen to be a part of one or know any members?

Hahaha yeah, I think everyone knew about the gangs. There was the Tooti Nungs and the Holy Smokes. Obviously I won’t say whether I was a part of one or not. But I really loved one thing about them both, it was the fact that they were just made up of Asians.  You know?  Back then you were able to mingle with your own people much easier than anyone else.  Everyone had their own sort of groups and like all us Indians or Asians, we all just stuck together. The fact that it was the Asians who went on to form gangs in Southall rather than anyone else just gives me this really good feeling.

Yeah but they were said to be quite dangerous as in everyone feared them in one way or another, right?

Yeah a few of my mates were a part of one…plus the gangs usually hung around in our areas anyway. Didn’t scare me much but with other people it was different. Everyone would whisper “Oh, look it’s that guy from the Tooti Nungs” or “The Holy Smokes are here, let’s go.”

The thing is they weren’t necessarily always involved in the wrong stuff.  I mean yeah both gangs were pretty violent, they had this rivalry thing going and in some cases they’d even stabbed or killed people from the other side. BUT what I was saying is that no matter how much rivalry they had between them, they would come together as a whole large group of proud and strong Asians when it came down to standing up for their community, their people and themselves. Trust me the feeling of pride that I still get from all this, just love it! In fact even today our communities quite strong, everyone’s finally able to mix in with everyone with fewer problems in terms of racism or anything. 

Yeah I actually feel quite proud of Southall myself now. Knowing all the history, it’s all quite exciting as in I wouldn’t have imagined so much to have happened and like you said with being able to mingle with your own people, nowadays it’s much different because everyone’s so much more comfortable with each other. Thanks for sharing it feels good to know about all these things.

It’s alright. I wouldn’t mind doing this again. After all, it’s Southall that we’re talking about.

                                                      A trip to the Past

Interviewer: Hello, I am glad that you came.

????: Well, it was a chance to share my story of Southall. Honestly I am really thankful for this chance.

Interviewer:  Hey, no problem.

????: But I am thankful.

Interviewer: Okay, let’s get on with the questions. When did you come to Southall and is it possible for the date?

????: I came to Southall on the 17th August 1988. It was a cold day.

Interviewer: Why did you come to Southall?

????: I came to gain a better life.

Interviewer: Why did you come to gain a better life here?

????: Because Southall has so many different cultures and plus my sister lives here. We were incredible close and were like the best of friends.

Interviewer: What was your feeling when you first stepped foot in Southall?

????: I felt weird as my heart beat was thumbing and at the same time I was filled with excitement as I was going to meet my sister again.

Interviewer: What was so special about Southall that made you come here?

????: I was a favourite fan of the Manor Park and the Dominion Centre. It was two places with history and I wanted to see them with my eyes. I heard that in Manor Park King Henry VIII, planted a tree.

Interviewer: Where did you go first?

????: I went to Guru Singh Sahib Gurdwara on Havelock Road.

Interviewer: Wasn’t the Gurdwara built in the 2000

????: Actually in 1988, there was a Gurdwara there where the new Gurdwara is built. It was quite small then the new one.

Interviewer: Did you come alone?

????: Yes, I did.

Interviewer: How was it like back then?

????: It was extremely pleasant not that it isn’t now. I actually very liked the scenery and Parks.

Interviewer: What were your best moments in Southall?

????: My best moments or shall I say moment was when I met some people from different cultures and became friends.

Interviewer: What were your bad moments in Southall?

????: The moments were when I kept getting stared at by people and it was very uncomfortable.

Interviewer: What would you sum up Southall today?

????: I would sum up Southall as a multi cultured town but there has been changes with crime around the corner.

Interviewer: Well, thank you for sharing your time  to share your past. It was very nice to find out the facts you given me.

????: You’re Welcome. Hey, I thank you too.

When was the swimming pool in Recreation Park built in?

Roughly in the early 1940’s.

What types of pool was it indoor or outdoor?

It was an open air swimming pool.

What did the swimming pool consist of?

The swimming pool consisted of changing rooms, round kid’s pool, a large shallow end which lead to a deep end.

Where there any shops there?

There was an ice cream shop, which sold soups, ice creams, drinks and chocolates.

Where there any seating areas?

There was a very large seating area, with umbrella stands, tables and chairs.

Where the male and female changing rooms separate?

Yes.

Was the swimming pool open every day of the week?

Yes it was open every day of the week.

What was the cost of using the swimming pool?

The cost was 30 pence.

How busy was it?

The pool was busy everyday full of families and children.

Why did the swimming pool close down?

The swimming pool closed down because the council stopped the funding.

Interviewing my Grandfather

Q1:  How long have you been in Southall for?

A: I first came to Southall in September 1963 and stayed for 3 years, and a second time in 1967. But this time stayed.

Q2: What happened the first time you came here and first impressions?

A: First time I had come here I had got a scholarship for training for technical teachers. First Impressions were that they were a lot of Indians in Southall, mainly here to work in labour jobs. There were nearly no Indian shops considering how many Indians there were. I had to even go to Central London to get Wheat flour.

Q3: What about the second time?

A: I came to find a better life like many others. Because of an attack on me I wasn’t able to travel or do the lectures in Leeds University. Then Southall was mostly white and there was a lot of racism so I when the criminals were caught the police did nothing.

Q4: How has Southall changed since then?

A: Southall is now dominated by Indians and is extremely diverse. There are Indian shops everywhere and no racism. No more attacks on the Asian community due to race. Factories in Southall have disappeared and the population of Asians now are educated and not as they were before illiterate and working in labour jobs.

My experience in Southall has been really good because I met new people. I made lots of new friends because of my school Featherstone High School that is in old Southall. I have 5 members in my family 1 sister and 1 brother and my parents. I have been living in old Southall for 9 years. I go to the Gurdwara with my family often. As I mentioned before I go to FHS and at the moment I am in year 9 about to do GCSE.

Through my life in Southall I have learned lots of new things. I went to Clifton Primary School and then Featherstone High School, which is near king street, old Southall. In Southall I met lots of new people and got to know about different religions because Southall is multi- cultured. I met some bad and some good people; it showed me the real side of people. I live with my family in Southall and I have a safe neighborhood where I don’t have to get scared because of crime. Southall also has lots of places of worships e.g. Gurdwara, temple, Church, mosque. There are lots of shops in Southall. People come from around the country to shop in Southall; it is popular for the saris and suits that they sell.

Southall has about 50 schools including new Southall and old Southall.

Southall also has transport such as cars, buses, trains, trams and other transport. Southall has transport so that it is easier for the community to travel. People also travel on bikes and motorbikes.

Southall in my opinion is really amazing and something new for everyone to see. Southall has taught me new things such as the real side of people; the good side n bad sided. If you want to know new things then I think that you should visit Southall once a lifetime I bet you that you might visit more then once because it is so brilliant.

Date of interview: 1/7/2011

Location of interviewer: My House

Name of interviewer: Sonia Sandhu

Interviewer’s organisation/school: Featherstone High School

Name of person being interviewed: Ammini Sandhu

Relationship to interviewer: Mother

Q 1.What year did you arrive in Southall?

A.      “I arrived in Southall in 1993.”

Q2.What was so special about Southall that you decided to stay?

A.      “Lots people similar to my religion made me feel like home in this country.”

Q3.Why didn’t you go elsewhere?

A.      “I was new in London and didn’t know where to go, then I somehow ended up in Southall and settled in”

Q 4.When you first came to Southall where did you stay?

       A. “I lived on Randolph Road which is opposite Southall College”

Q5.What was your best experience in Southall?

A.      “it was receiving a job due to my brilliant nursing skills”

Q5.What was the worst experience in Southall?

A.      “Being robbed £800 and heavy gold”

Hi Mum, I’m doing a project in school about the Southall stories’ was thinking if you could help me out. I mean spare sometime and perhaps answer a few questions. Do you mind or is that alright with you?

Yes, sure

you reckon I could ask you now? If you have time.

 yes, go ahead

well, so let me ask you a simple question! When did you come to Southall ?

Well, I’m not quite sure but I can take a guess. I came to Southall somewhere around September 2004.

Alright,so why did you come to South all? What was the purpose of it?

 I came to Southall because I came to live my life and a house of our own..At that moment I was pregnant of my son .Also, my husband could not find any job in Portugal so he decided to come to Southall and find a good job that would suit him. I wanted to experience a new world and to be honest, Portugal is totally different than here and I like it because most of my family is here.

what is so special about Southall?

It’s a very familiar area and a cultural area.ive got most of my family and close friends living here  and I like it. And also it reminds me of a little city of India.

Where did you go first?

Firstly, I had no permanent house of mine and my family so I stayed at my sister in law in Southall  for a couple of months, and that’s where I started to live in southall as my sister in law showed me the goods of southall.However, soon afterwards I managed to find a house of our own!

How did you feel when you first stepped into Southall?

When I first stepped into southall I felt happy because I knew I was going to have someone like a relative to support me living in this area as I knew this was my type of cultural area which had a lot of Muslims friends and others. Also, my life would totally change, At the same time I felt worried and anxious because I kept thinking to myself how would I cope in this different world, like I said its extremely different to Portugal and I dind’nt know much English as well my kids. I didn’t know how other races would treat me.

What were you best and worst moments?

My best moments was when I finally got to have my own house and live with my family without any worries, because at that time we used to live in rented room. It was really difficult at that time. Also, when I started to study in college and gradually learn English bit by bit

On the other hand, my worst moments were when my husband worked in Bristol for a while because he couldn’t apply to a job in Soutall, while I had to stay home alone with my kids. Life for me at that time was quite difficult as I didn’t have much help from my husband. But, he did used to come only at weekends to visit us.

Oh interesting, thank you for your help and your lovely contribution