A collection of stories shared with us throughout our Heritage Project.

1. Every Life Is
A Story

2. Table
of
Contents
01
The No.1 Befriending Agency
02
Our Values
10
Music
17
Living Spaces
03
Gardens
30
Project Highlights
24
Food and Drink
31
Our Contributors

3. The No.1 Befriending Agency is a social enterprise with a vision 'To create
connections and build confidence in and through the people we work with'
and a mission 'To promote fullness of life, reducing loneliness and isolation
through friendship and companionship in Scotland'.
The No 1 Befriending Agency offers a free one-to-one befriending service
across Glasgow. Our Heritage Project aimed to incorporate heritage
exploration into our established services including one-to-one befriending,
group befriending and online befriending. Weekly events were held in-person
across Glasgow and over Zoom with many varied activities including
reminiscing, visits to places of interest and art sessions.
A Message from our Founding Director,
Audrey Mutongi-Darko
The No.1
Befriending
Agency
1
The Heritage Project captures stories from people of all ages from
different cultures around the world. We focus on common themes;
Every generation has a living space, every culture has music, and
everyone has food no matter where they come from. The voices of
people that live in Scotland should be represented. We are making it
possible through a storytelling project that shares everyone's stories
Over the past 5 years, we have been creating meaningful connections in
peoples lives through intercultural and intergenerational connections.
We recognise that everyone is an asset and has something to share.
The heritage project allows us to capture those memories for
generations to come. Through the project, we are producing film and
written work that create long lasting stories that continue to impact
long after completion.
Through our heritage project, wellbeing is increased and more people
have their voices heard and have access to Heritage.
.

4. Our
Values
Every Life is a Story - Building Heritage through
Intergenerational Dialogue and intercultural
befriending;
COMPASSION
We provide an I see your value type of support service.
We promote well-being and a sense of deep satisfaction.
HAPPINESS
We promote the freedom to live a full life with autonomy.
INDEPENDENCE
2
We empower and appreciate those we support.
RESPECT
We recognise and appreciate the courage it takes to live.
COURAGE

5. Gardens
" Everyday I used to wake up to
see my grandmother in my garden
and use to water plants and shape
the bees. I remember she always
used to tell me not to pluck the
flowers but I always do that and
I was always getting scolded now
she is not here and I miss her. "
" Snowdrops in the
spring remind me of
my grandmother "
3

6. " I grew up in the countryside and
spent most of my days outside
playing and eating mud "
" I enjoy helping my dad water the flowers for
his pots, he makes and paints them in his
garden "
" Seeing all the buds and shoots in the
garden. I like hearing the birds whistling
during the mating season "
" The regenerations of the
bluebells in the spring bring me
hope ... "
" Playing in the garden at all hours, my mum
growing coriander all year round. The smell
of coriander always reminds me of my mum "
4

7. 5

8. " We did not have gardens but enjoyed
going to Elder Park with lots of other
children so were never lonely. "
" Full of flowers and colours! "
" The colours of the rainbow, in
the garden "
" Rolling in thick, crisp snow in the
street where we lived in Elder Park
Street "
" Balancing along fallen trees "
" Handprints on hut door, Matthew garden;
boys hut; caterpillars, butterflies, oranges;
height charts on the cellar door "
6

9. " We played outside all day with friends
and we made up our fun "
" I quite enjoyed growing up. It
was wild and all that kind of
thing, falling off bikes and one
thing or another "
" My mama used to have to put
plaits in, and I liked how she
did it, she put wee plaits there,
and the big plaits, and see
when I ran, they battered me! "
" In my garden of memories. I
remember delicious currants,
gooseberries and cherries, I hated it
but now I think it was unique and
important "
" Go plant a tree and explore the nature with loved ones "
7

10. " Sunbathing in a field, close to peacocks,
rhododendrons and monkey puzzle "
" Walking to the park
with my parents every
weekend "
" Grow a flower and express your love "
" To me it was a happy childhood, wonderful ... It didn’t
matter that we were out playing in back courts and
middens and jumping dykes and everything else. "
" We went to the swings most of the time,
we went to look at the pond, swans and
that, the ducks. It was good fun. "
8

11. " I went to the Botanic
Gardens with my gran who
was in a nursing home just
near there.
We took the dolls’ prams up,
a bottle of water, some
sandwiches and go to
Queen’s Park and spend the
day there "
"
" We went to
parks to play and
even as young
mothers we went
to the park with
prams and again.
We all met after
lunchtime and the
children played. "
" We had Elder Park here and
Bellahouston Park, not that far
away either, and Barshaw Park
Paisley so quite a few parks. "
9

12. " Music of the 1980s
and 90s;
Lemonheads
Therapy
Madonna
Meatloaf
Bros
Roxettte
Deacon Blue "
" In the early sixties, most
bands played Glasgow. I saw
the Beatles, Stones, Four
Tops, Bee Gees, and Billy. J
Kramer , Beach Boys "
Music
10

13. " Tommy, Kinks, You Got Me, Simon
and Garfunkel, Bridge Over Troubled
Water, Beatles: Sergeant Peppers,
lonely Hearts Club Band, Rolling
Stones, Beach Boys, Good Vibrations,
Anyone Who Had a Heart "
" Singing along to it, yes,
totally. Also, if I’m singing
to music spontaneously it
must be a wee bit better?
Helped me get over losing
my Mum and Dad so it’s an
optimistic thing as well."
" Tip Toe Through the Tulips "
" I listened to a lot of
50's, 60's and 70s
music, music was
music then. Don't like
the modern rap and hip
hop style. Easy
listening music."
" I enjoyed my live experiences
of music "
11

14. " My favourite kind of music is afro beats. It
originates from Africa with links to
Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo Kuti of
Nigeria "
" Jamie Lee Curtis ( Just won an Oscar ),
Florence ( From Florence and the
Machine) , Beyoncé "
" I love Music with a beat
that would make you dance "
"Seeing Abba in 1979 'That was the
highlight of my life, apart from having
my mum and dad as parents 'Ultimate
one would be when I saw Abba in
concert in 1979 "
" Enjoyed listening to the Beatles
Gilbert O'Sullivan and The Monkeys "
" I used to sit crossed leg in front of the
tv every Saturday night "
" Growing up in 60s the Beatles
and Rolling Stones "
12

15. 13

16. " I used to do karaoke, regularly in the ’80s and ’90s. And
there was a song that Colin, that co-run Austin's Bar in
Hope Street, it’s no longer the now, but he’d say ... “Can
you come up and dae that wee song you like, okay? "
" Because it’s about
Scotland, if I’m
homesick I’ll listen.
Paolo Nutini does a
nice version of it. "
" For ‘Very Important People’
- my grandad. So, when we
were kids, we always used to
go to, uh, their house in Bristol,
in Lancashire, and we would
always listen to Glenn Miller "
" We would just sort of jump on their
sofa, and jump around, dancing
around."
14

17. " My time was of vinyl and cassette, really. 8-tracks
were more like, oh god, 60s, early 70’s and
thereabouts. And you could only get so many songs
on it, you couldn’t actually fit as many songs as you
would get on an album "
" We would tape the charts and then have our
favourite songs off the charts on a little tape cassette,
really – cassette tape, rather. Yeah, it’s illegal but, of
course, we all did it "
" Classical stuff to be honest – we didn’t sing
the popular songs of the day, we never sang
the songs that were around then. We sang
older songs. "
" But there was a tennis club attached to it as well
and every Saturday night the teenagers went there
and it was real dancing. You learned to dance. You
had to go early and you had to queue up... The fellas
that went there as well were all good dancers "
15

18. " My mum and dad were great dancers, great
ballroom dancers, they learned to dance at a
young age, I think I’ve said this before, standing
on my Dad’s feet that’s how I learned to dance.
Then I progressed to the more modern, more pop
dancing "
" We used to go there one
week and the next week
we’d go to a tennis club and
it was a jazz club, there was
never any ballroom dancing.
I only ever went to one
dance with my husband,
because he was always
playing, he played guitar
and sax. He didn’t know
how to dance but he played
music to dance to. "
" Probably Barrowland and
the likes of Co-op Halls, all
different halls, different
kinds of stuff. "
16

19. " Tenement
Top Flat
Coal Fire
Playing bods on the pavement
Going for Coal
Whinging Clothes on the wringer
Caramel and Custard in the dinner hall
Getting new shoes "
Living Spaces
17

20. " My favourite place to live is Glasgow!
The best city in the world. Full of history
and culture. "
" We played in the backcourt where my mum could keep
an eye on us and would throw us a piece and jam
wrapped in the bread wrapper. Happy Simple Days "
" Glasgow. Nice place to stay. I've been to
Easterhouse. It's been perfect. It's cold but
it's good. "
" Lived in tenement next to
swimming baths/steamie, lots of
aunties and cousins to do things
with "
" Enjoying time with my grandmothers
during long school holidays "
18

21. " In my home the kitchen was warm
and most of our days were lived there.
Our childhood was fairly happy. "
" Father was in the RAF so I have lived in many different
houses and gone to many different schools. The house
we had in Germany was very big and we were moved to
a new building when it was finished. That house had
central heating with a boiler in the cellar. I loved opening
the door to the cellar, as you got the smell of whitewash.
Parents split up eventually and we moved to a tenement
in Hamilton. The chimney in that house fell and we
moved again. "
" I lived in a tenement second story up with my mum
and dad and brothers and sisters in Calder Street.
Loved the open fire in the kitchen and also an open
fire in the bedroom when cold. We had a long hall
with a Bunkie for coal and a big wardrobe. "
" Stayed in grans flat, gran had
bedroom, mum, dad, brother, sister
and I stayed in the big room. We had
only a toilet and no hot water. A
scullery with cooker and kitchen
cabinet "
19

22. " I lived in a poor part of Glasgow
till I was 8 years old, I and my
family were fortunate enough to be
rehoused from my mum and dad and
my 3 siblings went to the newest
housing scheme. I went on to have a
happy childhood - my story "
20

23. " My favourite place - Quite a few -
Southport (where I'm from ), London
where I worked, Amman in Jordan,
where I worked for 4 years, Cyprus
(holidays), Amsterdam (again,
holidays) - and finally Glasgow,
where I live now! "
" Out playing in
the street with
my friends "
" Growing up, I stayed in 1
bedroom flat. Set in bed in
kitchen. Inside toilet, a luxury!"
" I don’t see it anymore but when
I was out there I saw deprivation
and God knows how bad it is
there and I can’t understand how
anyone could afford to eh scrape
to pay an electric bill sometimes.
The electric bill is twice what it
was last time. "
21

24. " Good seeing Barrowland again. I liked the one
about Possil … My friend lives there "
" It made us reflect the
life we have been today
and the one back almost
100 years ago "
" The home was small but comfortable and clean. My dad
was away a lot but when he was home my sister and I
had to stay in the room until he got washes at the sink -
the toilet was outside on the stair "
" I was brought up in a Pre Fab house.
Mum, dad, brother and myself. There
were only 25 houses built at first and
all around were fields and farms.
Eventually, the area was built up as
more houses were built. I had a very
happy childhood. "
" I lived in Rutherglen in a
council house with my two
sisters and three brothers. There
was the diny which was used as
a bedroom. All the floors had
lino, we all lived next to each
other "
22

25. " The house I grew up in - A tenement flat in
Govan with my loving parents, I had no brothers
or sisters so I did not share a room with anyone.
Being an only child I had a very happy childhood,
our house was always busy with friends. "
" In the tenements after the war it was a
very caring community and my memory is
how neighbours looked out for one
another = very happy childhood "
" We were very lucky as we had an inside
bathroom and I slept in the bed recess in
the kitchen. My parents had the bedroom
and my sister slept in the sitting room. "
" Playing with friends at beds, doublers ,
Chinese ropes, ropes and climbing dykes "
" The church my dad went to
was opposite and my mum
who loved Glasgow looked
after the gardens there and I
helped her there. I had a very
happy childhood there and
lived there until I was 11. "
23

26. " Mealtimes at home were always
a happy affair with family, we
were very cohesive "
Food and
drink
" I liked my school dinners - I liked
the custard and caramel cake "
" Tripe man used to sell
with a wheelbarrow , a
long one "
24

27. " When growing up you
ate what you got or NO
dinner "
" My mum was a good
cook, my dad never
touched it, he maybe
strained the potatoes "
" Growing up we
used to eat 2 times a
day mid-morning
11:00 or 12:30pm,
and our dinner used
to be about 5:00 or
6:00pm "
" Mothers were always great
cooks, juggling all the pots,
like wow, how they did that? "
" There used to be a chip van
and the whelks man would
come round "
" At the weekend
Sunday roast was a
big deal "
" My mums
homemade tablet "
25

28. " My dad used to eat
tripe once a week,
was a cheap meat
then "
" Mince and
potatoes, so I could
eat it quick and go
out to play!"
" My mum's homemade
soup with the smell of ham
hock, it tasted horrible "
" My favourite dish growing up is fried rice and chicken
or turkey. This was made especially for birthdays or big
family gatherings or on memorable days "
"My daddy going like that and
saying “they were all nice and
quiet, you know, ‘till you came in
and fed them, now they’re all
jumping about like animals”
26

29. " My mum used to make homemade soup,
used to get big outsiders, dip into the pot "
" My mum would make really
nice chicken soup and she
would make trifle every
Sunday "
" My favourite food
growing up was pasta! we
used to eat all sorts! "
" Home was the
kitchen, this was the
family place where
we were all together "
" My favourite meal growing up was Nigerian
Jollof rice with turkey or chicken "
" Doctors used to tell you to drink Buckfast
cause it was a tonic wine for sickness "
27

30. " The best fish and chips was in
Largs. You had to eat it out of the
paper – that was the best way to
eat it. We used to go down there
and sit along the front. "
" We never had a picnic hamper, I
never had a picnic hamper as a wee
girl or a phone you know. My children
did, we went on a lot of picnics – you
know the change from one
generation, just one generation "
" Friday night – we’d go to the
chippy for a fish supper. Friday
night was always a chippy night
I would have a special – my mother
would have a pie and chips. "
28

31. 29

32. 30
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
96 snippets of individual stories are featured in this collection.
Below is a small selection of feedback received from
individuals involved in the project;
" Heritage is like your family that you
can't choose! Good or not it's a part of
you and you have to deal with it
anyway! I enjoyed today! Thank you! "
" Heritage is a reminder of who
we are . Today was a great
creative day, I enjoyed meeting
others and my drawing very
much. It's a day to remember. "
" Oh, Brilliant. I love
company. Just everybody
talking and being in
company. "
" What an enjoyable time talking
about my past. Brought up the
fondest memories by a lovely person "
" The stories and food were fantastic to hear. The fact that we have
so many stories from different part of life, wartimes, Italy etc. Makes
it even better ! Play and art adds to the creativity. "
Over 100 pieces of feedback have been collected over the
course of the heritage project - using our vintage
postcards. We will continue to integrate our learning and
this feedback into our befriending services, initially through
the creation of our own memory boxes, which will support
volunteers to delve deeper in their conversations with their
befriendees ensuring the positive impact of heritage work
continues to resonate through our organisation.
" Every life is a story "
" I loved volunteering at Befriending agency, it was very enjoyable
talking to other people and listening to them. The members of the
organisation were very kind and friendly and I felt confident and
comfortable. I can't wait to volunteer at upcoming events. Thank You !

33. THANKS TO
OUR
CONTRIBUTORS
31
Annabelle H.
Margaret M.
Nora P.
Catherine H.
Janette J.
Linda M.
Anne K.
Patricia M.
Ruth L.
Emma F.
Helen M.
Ann D.
Elizabeth F.
Mary H.
Betty W.
Elizabeth D.
William C.
Anne C.
Ann L.
George P.
Rosemary D.
Maureen G.
Janette D.
Lesley K.
Isobel J.
Paula F.
Bob N.
George Mc.
Emmanuel O.
Martha S.
Rebecca Mc.
Lorraine C.
John M.
Jan M.
Rasheed
Cecilla T.
Himanshi G.
Aileen R.
Anne J.
Wendy
Maureen K.
Maureen Mc.
Linnea
George K.
Rachel S.
Janice Mc.
Nancy B.
William W.
Agnes A.
Junior M.

34. 8th Floor, West 51, 1
Cadogan St,
Cadogan Square,
Glasgow G2 7HF
www.befriend.org.uk
info@befriend.org.uk
0141 465 6998
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