What's On

All our sessions are run using Zoom, so download the app on your phone, tablet or computer and join in!

Are you over 60 and want to chat with other people your age? Then join our weekly Prime Time session every Monday, 10am - 11am

Email Clara.Crocetti@towerhamlets.gov.uk an we will send you an invite to the next session

4 May (Extra on Tuesday)
Tea and Chat: Join us to discuss your top post-lockdown favourite places to visit.
10 May
Sotiris takes you on a tour of his top ten commercial galleries in London - a fun way to experience art, wonderful buildings and London all in one and for free!
17 May
Monthly Documentary Screening: Halima Khanom, from the Local History Library and Archives, presents ‘The Life and Times of Miriam Moses OBE JP’ (1997), about the life of the first female mayor of Stepney and a leading figure in the local Jewish community.
24 May
An introduction to flower arranging with Sian Tribe.

Reading Friends brings people together to read, share stories, meet new friends, and have fun. We use reading – whether books, magazines, newspapers, or anything else – to start everyone chatting. 

See the Reading Friends page for more information on how to join.

Is English your second language and you want to practise speaking it with others? Then join our weekly Conversation Club. We have two sessions:

Wednesdays, 11am - 12noon.
Email Arif.Ahmed@towerhamlets.gov.uk and we will send you an invite to the next session

Fridays, 11am - 12noon..
Email Sumon.Miah@towerhamlets.gov.uk and we will send you an invite to the next session

Would you like to share stories and poetry to lift the mood? Possibly take a turn of reading out loud? Join our weekly Book Break group every Tuesday from 3 - 4pm.

Please email George.Gratton@towerhamlets.gov.uk who will send you an invite to the next session.

Talk about what you’re reading and make friends with other readers. We have two online books groups and you’re welcome to join either – or both

News of the World by Paulette Jiles
Thursday 13 May, 6:30pm

Set in post-Civil War Texas, News of the World tells the story of 71-year-old Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd and his unlikely ward, a 10-year-old girl rescued by the U.S. from capture. The girl, is sullen, prone to running away, and remembers nothing before her time with the Kiowa tribe. The captain, while at times exasperated by his charge, is a tender-hearted man who does his best to protect her, understand her, and ease her painful transition back into the “civilized” world.. Over time, the captain and Johanna come to rely on and trust one another.
Jiles’ descriptive powers are as mighty as the land she paints, the author is an accomplished poet, as her lyrical language attests on every page.

• If you would like to join the group above please email Atalanta.kernick@towerhamlets.gov.uk and you will be contacted with a login for the session which takes place on Zoom

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell 
Wednesday 19 May, 6:15pm

A portrait of the residents of an English country town in the mid nineteenth century, Cranford relates the adventures of Miss Matty and Miss Deborah, two middle-aged spinster sisters striving to live with dignity in reduced circumstances. A masterpiece of social comedy, Cranford is as moving as it is funny, and as sharp as it is tender. 
 
It is available as an eBook and audiobook

• If you would like to join the group above please email Julian.Harrison@towerhamlets.gov.uk and you will be contacted with a login for the session which takes place on Zoom

You are welcome to join both groups. Staff involved will be able to guide you as to how to login

Idea Store Community Navigator health advice sessions have moved online to give one to one support. Community Navigators can help with:

•    Advice on keeping safe and healthy
•    Information about how the Council can help you
•    Information about other services and groups that can give support, including foodbanks, voluntary groups, financial advice services

They are also able to give extra support to vulnerable or isolated residents, for example making phone calls or emailing on their behalf.

If you would like to contact a Community Navigator email: navigators@towerhamlets.gov.uk

Bangladesh 50 Years
Identity and belonging in the East End before and after the Libreration War of 1971

2021 marks 50 years since the independence of Bangladesh. To mark the significance of this, Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives (THLHLA) and the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) are leading Bangladesh 50 Years, one of four projects that forms a part of the National Portrait Gallery’s offsite programme; Citizen UK, during its temporary closure to transform the gallery. 

Citizen UK is an exciting research and creative engagement project involving the borough archive services, local communities and contemporary artists. It is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The project will conclude with a Bangladesh 50 Festival taking place February - March 2021, marking Bangladesh Independence Day (26 March) and the related anniversary UN International Mother Language Day (21 February),  kicked off by the launch of a creative commission which will sit in the public realm in Tower Hamlets as well as a exhibition curated by Citizen Researchers, informed by historical materials from Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives and the National Portrait Gallery. See more information

Online exhibition

From Town Hall to Local History Library & Archives: new online exhibition is now available.
A short history of our service and premises, 1861-2015 is based on research undertaken for last year's 50th anniversary celebrations of the borough.

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