Ivy House poet: Charlie

I had only lived in the area for a few weeks but one of the reasons we moved to the Brockley/Nunhead area was because of the Ivy House. We were looking for flats and had some time to kill and stumbled across the pub in the middle of the day. We loved it immediately and have been coming back pretty much every week since. I love the community feeling in the pub, the feeling that it is cared for and loved. I enjoy the fact that every time I come I discover a new event, be it knitting or jazz, it feels alive. Before I moved to London, I worked as a barman in the local pub in my village. I loved working in the pub, getting to know the regulars and hearing about their lives. When you work in a quiet country pub you become part of the framework of a community, instantly recognizable to all. Due to this, I believe, people begin to trust you and to confide in you. I am interested in taking part because I believe that pubs are one of the few pubic places left that people can come together and relax, share ideas and idle conversation. In essence, to be part of a community. I believe that this should be protected and highlighted. It's also a very interesting project and I was impressed by the passion of the people involved. I write a few poems in my spare time and have an M.A. in creative writing. I'm glad I did it. I think it was quite interesting looking at the different backgrounds of people involved. Considering we talk about 'a' community, it's actually a wide variety of people. That was possibly more interesting than the poetry, such as speaking to Mohammad about his life, or Geoff who has lived here all his life. The process of writing was really interesting - it's nice just to be involved in that creative process and being allowed to be creative.