West London

Home of the famous Notting Hill carnival, with a large immigrant and second-generation immigrant population - West London has an incredible mix of cultures and a lot to offer here. Notting Hill was our starting point, we ventured further West to Southall, the largest population of Indians and British-Indians in London. Willesden Junction also has a thriving Brazilian and South American diaspora and there is a large Middle East and North African diaspora in and around Notting Hill and Edgware Road.

• Notting Hill

• Portobello Road Market

• Ladbroke Grove

• Willesden Junction

• Edgware Road

• Southall

Below you can find an overview of the various activities and people that we met in West London.

Southall Tour

Amusingly, Starbucks didn’t survive 6 months in Southall, the community there is just not prepared to lose their sense of self when it comes to capitalism. As Shari explained: “I don’t want to define my identity of people, I honor my own truth, I do it my own unique way. And that needs to be fluid, and it needs to be plural.” For her, she is currently working on moving her relationship with her father from a traditional, slightly constricted one, to a more fluid, modern one. As a voice, she wants to open up those conversations and expand those relationships: "Whether it’s parental, geographical or community-based… All of these are my responsibility as a community leader and voice.” 

Caribbé Steel Band

During our time together, the band discussed the generational shifts they’re noticing, whether it’s the elder of the group ‘Scruffs’ feeling like his kids having it easier, to another talking about how his daughter is absorbing increasingly “modern influence”. For them, the family can be brought back together through music and food, a continuous theme that keeps the idea of ‘home’ at the heart of the family. And for Afro-Caribbean families, “everyone's a cousin” there is a familial feel instantly between people, even if they’re just friends - somewhere, at some points, they’re connected.

Lunch with Mehala Ford

When we spoke to Mehala, a lot of what she’s trying to do is about holding space for specific conversations, a place WhatsApp can naturally play in. For her, there’s an opportunity for WhatsApp to be a physical space - and to provide those spaces - as well as being a digital one.

Consumer Chats, Laylow

Perhaps the most important takeaway from this session was how savvy the consumers really are; they know when they are being marketed to and they know when their culture is being appropriated. In this way, it’s imperative to be appropriate rather than to appropriate. Involving the consumer in all that we do is one critical way to do this.

Romano Tour

As we discussed with our Brazilian groups, no one really feels ‘Latin American’ until they actually leave home [as explained to us by Romano]. Interestingly, we heard how the community is adopting the hustle and bustle of London as their new modus operandi, as opposed to the more laid-back characteristics associated typically with the Latin American communities. Often, this speedier, more frantic way of life is commented on when they return home and is something they are increasingly aware of. Importantly, they are naturally forging a community within their communities, employing other young Latin Americans when they arrive in London. In this way, the community continues to grow and prosper, albeit on the terms and turf of the hectic way of life London demands. 

Note: even the Barbershop and motorbike dealership is a ‘church’ of sorts for this community, as seen with the Pedro Club. These ‘community churches’ are everywhere, from delis to barbers to local libraries.