Deidre: We met on holiday in Jamaica. I first lived in Gravesend, where we had a flat in Pelham Road. When we had our first child, we got a maisonette in Greenhithe because obviously we were a growing family and we needed more room. We lived there for a long time which we loved, we really enjoyed being in Greenhithe. To purchase a house with a discount from the government as first time buyers, we moved back to Northfleet because our children were going to school in Gravesend so it made sense. We've lived here now in Northfleet for about 30 years. Carl: I had every intention to move to Canada to study but that fell through and I changed my travel plans and came to England and liked it. We got married, settled down… When we lived in Greenhithe, it was quite a small village. (It was one of those places that you drove past and didn't even realise it was there and I was quite surprised when we actually looked at the house in Cobham Terrace. Then the village started to grow because the cement industry in Greenhithe was folding and places were being sold off for housing. We had all these big new housing estates that were going up and suddenly this relatively small village was overwhelmed by all the newcomers. A lot of people actually were moving down from London because the property was much cheaper and it was quite a reasonable commute from Greenhithe up to London, so it just completely changed out of all proportions. We found that when we first moved down here into All Saints Road in Northfleet, the houses where a lot of people lived were where their elderly relatives had lived and they've grown up there and been there for many years. Gradually as those people died off, new people moved in but what we found was happening was people were selling the houses and people were actually buying them and then renting them out so instead of a stable community area, it became a transient area because people will be there for a short time and then move on and then we'd have another family move in. So it completely changed. Carl: I was working up in Lewisham for a few years. I worked in Maidstone and I was working for Safeway in the food store travelling up every day on the train. I was still working for Safeway while I was in Greenhithe. Sunday trading was about to come into play and I wasn't for it at all, so I changed my job and started working for the River Crossing and I was there with them for 27 years until my retirement. Deirdre: My favourite local place would be St. Mary's church at Greenhithe. When we first moved into Greenhithe, we were actually attending the United Reform Church in Gravesend but then we decided that because it was a bit difficult travelling back to Gravesend every time to go to church that we we would settle into the local church and I've been there for many many years. During my time there I served 14 years as a church warden, I used to sing in the music group when I was younger and I was involved in all sorts of things at the church. The church is a great place for actually getting to know other people in the area so we found it very useful - our children all attended Sunday school there and they still now have a Christian faith today, so that's great. Carl: My favourite place in Greenhithe must be Saint Mary's Church because we still worship there and our new minister Reverend Charlie Lloyd is a fantastic lady who still manages to keep the church going. The congregation is quite encouraging and I've only just recently decided to take on the Children's Society box coordinator for the church. People take a charity box and they support the Children's Society and we give out boxes to people who want to take them. At the end of the year, we collect all the boxes. - From Ndini (This is me), a series of photographs and interviews with local residents by Mbeke Waseme, commissioned by Cement Fields for Ebbsfleet Citizen Archive. Mbeke Waseme is a writer and photographer based in Gravesend. websites.lightrocket.com/mbekewaseme
Submitted by Mbeke Waseme