Our podcast series, AP Sounds, which brings you community stories and audio adventures from the Park and Palace has produced a new episode.

AP Silver Sounds was recorded across four weeks with a group of older people from Haringey brought to together by Haringey Reach and Connect, our Creative Learning team and sound artist Jessica Sammut.

The podcast was recorded inside the Palace’s Creativity Pavilion, which is home to our Creative Learning programme. Participants, who chose the name ‘elders’, shared and reflected on their experiences of ageing, exploring themes of freedom, belonging, loneliness and community.

In doing so they tried their hand at audio-making and recording. Listen to the podcast to discover more.

Ashley Grey, Community Connector at Reach and Connect: “Bringing people together to chat about ageing, could have been just one long moan – but instead we laughed, shared stories, gasped at each other’s achievements and found common ground in our journeys and experiences. Producing the podcast showed our ability to learn new skills, question our situation, and challenge society’s view of older people.

“Participating in the podcast brought us together as a community, fostered bonds and developed new friendships. Listening to the podcast I am immensely grateful to everyone for their time, generosity, and kindness to each other. I hope people enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed making it.”

Participant Kala Gunness: “The whole project was a wonderful experience; those of us who took part brought in a lot of their knowledge of specialised areas. Some of us had jobs in common, like nursing, but I heard how others did jobs in fields that I had no idea of … broadcasting, journalism, going around schools.

“Personally, I benefited from meeting people with vast knowledge of life, we all had a lot to contribute. The one thing that is common to all is our age, how people see us, what emotions we felt, and how we dealt with situations as they arose. Common threads were loneliness and misunderstanding of older people’s needs. I also learnt that fears of the unknown hold back a lot of people, in spite of their knowledge, they are afraid to venture out from their safe spaces/comfort zones. I personally, have no intentions of being stagnant like a pond with murky waters; I have to be like a river, flow, move … find another path if one is blocked, break barriers.”

Jen Blackwood, Senior Creative Learning Producer at Alexandra Palace: “It was amazing to listen to everyone’s stories. The depth of emotion and experience everyone shared really lit up the room, and is a reminder of how much everyone can bring to everyday moments like a conversation or simple interaction. It was fantastic to see the group using the recording equipment to produce such a great podcast.”

AP Silver Sounds is currently preparing to record a new podcast before the end of the year based around the themes of love and loss. The team will be hosting a coffee meeting for people interested in taking part on the 28 October, 11am-12.30pm, in the Creativity Pavilion. If you would like to join, then please email us at [email protected]