How the Pepper Pot stirred into life

The Pepper Pot Centre was founded by Pansy Jeffery in 1981 to offer a culturally sensitive drop-in centre for recently retired, redundant or disabled members of the elderly African Caribbean community.

This much-valued ‘home from home’ for settlers who had come from the islands of Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad & Tobago, the Bahamas and Belize was formally established under the auspices of the Community Service of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Citizens Advice Bureau.

According to Shaun Bailey, the high-profile community worker whose mother and aunt are integral to the Pepper Pot community: “The Pepper Pot Centre keeps the community cohesive, happy and supported. The level of hospitality and service are very important for physical health and mental stimulation.”

Back in the 1970s, Pansy, who was working at the Citizens’ Advice Bureau, heard many tales of hardship faced by the early Caribbean settlers who had come to London to furnish the labour market in the 1950s and 1960s and, on retirement, found themselves isolated and lonely in a foreign country. On June 9, 1981, Pansy and her CAB colleague, Bridget Davies, organized a lunch-time soup and served it to the half dozen Caribbean pensioners who otherwise had not much to do and nowhere to meet their island counterparts. It was a very happy gathering, fellow Caribbeans enjoying a traditional meal and talking shop. Thus the Pepper Pot Day Centre stirred into life.

By the end of the 1970s, it was clear to me that there was an increasing number of people of African Caribbean origin, categorised as Senior Citizens, who were suffering great isolation, loneliness and depression… I had to do something. – Pansy Jeffery

Word spread fast. Gradually the number of pensioners outgrew the CAB office space and Pansy and her team began to serve lunch within the Westway premises. This arrangement continued for a year or two, until, with the help of the Greater London Council, and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Pepper Pot secured premises in Acklam Road and sufficient funding to furnish and equip them, and to support a co-ordinator, a cook, a minibus and a driver: so the pensioners could be transported to and from their homes, given a good lunch, and entertained by a range of activities such as they still enjoy today.

1981 – 86 The focal point of those early years was a healthy, balanced Caribbean meal, a place to reminisce together and a place to create handicrafts.

1986 – 91 The first vehicle. The Pepper Pot ethos is to enable and empower our older members. Adaptable vehicles allow us to continue to promote their independence as our house-bound disabled members will be able to access services, maximize leisure time constructively and enjoy their autumn years to the full.

1991 – 2000 Members share their stories with the younger generations to ensure the legacy lives on through inter-generational work. The determination and perseverance of Pansy Jeffery, Bridget Davies and Elizabeth Vice, amongst others, is acknowledged when any funding for the project is consolidated.

2000 – Pepper Pot Day Centre moves to our current site, 1a Thorpe Close, Ladbroke Grove. The Royal Borough publicly endorses our work in caring for the elderly and supports us with an annual grant.

2006 - Pepper Pot Day Centre celebrates our silver Jubilee Year. This represents 25 years of providing selfless and dedicated service, with an ever-increasing range and quality, to the elderly African Caribbean people for whom the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and other neighbouring boroughs are home. Celebration activities start with a visit to our Centre by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

In this Jubilee year of Pepper Pot, looking back to 1981, the changes that have taken place in those 25 years have been quite astonishing! As Pepper Pot has grown and developed, so have attitudes to the needs of older people, and measures to make their lives better and more comfortable have coincided with our own ‘great leap forward’ in terms of premises, staffing and amenities. Bridget Davies

 2010 - Pepper Pot Centre aims to broaden its membership base by encouraging members of other ethnic minority groups in addition to African and Caribbean people to access services we offer.

 (Ms Pansy Jeffery)