Meet Your Neighbour: Maria

Please note: this post is 66 months old and The Cares Family is no longer operational. This post is shared for information only

What was the first North London Cares event that you attended?

Well, that's got me thinking as I've been coming since 2014! One of the first ones that I remember was a workshop with the Angel Puppet Theatre, it was so interesting and I met some lovely people. One of the volunteers was an Italian girl who still rings me for a chat today.!

It was around this time that I met Marrianne through the Love Your Neighbour scheme. Marrianne and her husband had just moved to London from Canada and didn't know anybody. We became very good friends and she visited me a lot when I was in hospital. I cooked for her at my house and we had so many nice times together, it was lovely.

What has been your favourite experience with North London Cares so far?

Ah that will be when we went to the skip garden in Kings Cross and spent the afternoon making pizzas with school children. It was so nice spending time with the children and talking to them and what I remember the most was meeting a young boy who was deaf and seeing sign language for the first time. I came away wishing that I knew how to do it and a couple of years later I was thrilled that North London Cares ran a class in beginners sign language! I was only able to attend two of the classes because I was in hospital but it was so interesting and Dali the teacher was brilliant.

What advice would you give to a new neighbour attending their first club?

I would explain to them how caring everyone is and tell them about all the nice young people they will meet. I have never felt uncomfortable at a North London Cares event because everyone is so friendly and you always feel welcome. It really is one big lovely family and I consider them my family in London. My relatives all live in Northampton so I could be quite lonely but I've got my North London Cares family whenever I need them.

Where do you like to go in Camden and Islington to feel happy?

I just like to go for a walk. Walking along the streets of Islington makes me feel so happy because I'm so glad I've got to live here all my life. Everywhere I go round here I have brilliant memories.