Day 2 – Chepstow Road
There is an unexpected end to the day. A day that sees the team of John, Richard, Marega and I recreate our gazebo of interest opposite the police station on Chepstow Road, next to the public toilets. A day that sees the sun shine and the curiosity grow. It is a busy day as people are in the vicinity to visit banks, bakers and various shops and they are easily lured into talking to us. There is a lot of nostalgic chat that is, at times, tainted with gloomy pessimistic predictions that are heartfelt and hard. There was a heyday… a Maindee with a high street that in its prime served the community and beyond. A Chepstow Road that held the attention of it’s shoppers for a full day that then offered a plethora of evening activity. A shopping mecca that is barely remembered by anyone under the age of… twenty(?).
In addition the talk is of frustration, of a lack of facilities, of two excellent community police officers and a youth worker that gets things done, of a need for a community centre, of the need for floodlights on the courts and for a collective clean up. There is talk of a fractured community divided by a railway line. There are groups of young men that spend time with us articulating the issues of their community and realise they too are also ‘an issue’ for some of the other people we’ve spoken to. They are street wise and proactive, candid and forthright. There is a sense that all of these people have said all of this before and that nothing has happened or changed. A sense that the local authority and law enforcement are helpless or non-existent.
It is at the close of day that the unexpected part happens. A young man, running one of the many gents barber shops – who took time to chat between taper cuts throughout the day, approaches us as we pack up to say thanks for listening… for trying to do something. His sincerity is reinforced with a hand shake, a simple gesture that in many ways captures the spirit of the day.
Tomorrow another location… and another day Finding Maindee
Gareth
Finding Maindee is a commission by Maindee Festival, supported by Arts Council of Wales