"Cundy's as it is known to the locals is now the only pub in Silvertown, with a rich and long history. known to have hosted meeting's organised by Eleanor Marx, after the great Dock Strike in September 1889. She supported the efforts of the workers at the India Rubber Factory in Silvertown to obtain an increase in pay. The strike committee held meetings in Cundy's. Today the pub is "full of ex dockers and their memories.
"In those days there were loads of pubs around here, most of them had closed down before I moved here, but there were lots of pubs in Silvertown and North Woolwich. There were also clubs and the Tate and Lyle Institute which has been here for years and years. When Mick was a teenager he used to go there for dances, that's where all the boys and girls met up. There were other clubs down the road, lots of pubs and that's where people went for their entertainment. There was at one time a little cinema, but that was before my time.
"Saturday nights in the local club there would be a band or a disco and loads of people off the estate, children would come along as well. A lot of the children actually grew up in there, in that club, they were taken in there as babies in a pram and many of them now are in their 20's, and they can remember being brought up in the club. My daughter-in-law was, she was round there from a child to when she got married and moved away.
"There was a good sense of community, we would arrange to meet people there on a Saturday night it was busy in that club - it's still here, but not used as much as it was, but I think there's more of a sense of community here than in most places in London. It's still like a village."
- RG
"We used to socialise and drink round here at the Tate & Lyle Institute. Children used to stand outside with a glass of lemonade and a bag of crisps or arrowroot biscuits, just the dad would go in for a few drinks."
- TS
"It's got to be something like eighteen years ago when we had the Ferry Festival. We used to get crowds of people in the park, it was quite a big event there would be a beer tent and there'd be five a side football and lots to do. We used to have many different events leading up to the festival over the months. That was really good because the other events would get people involved in the festival.
"There would be competitions in the park or the pub and trophies won, and then we would hold the finals on the festival day and it would be darts or crib, cards, football, cricket, all sorts of things. There would be competitions for the children they would make decorations and costumes. It was a really great day, everybody enjoyed themselves.
"They used to decorate all the streets, the pubs would be decorated, that was a big day, during the Summer, it was the biggest event of the year, and it's such a shame that it all stopped, but then it was such hard work for so few people to organise the event."
- MS
"There was always a float, called Victorian Capers, the women dressed up I didn't, I was dressed as a man in a flat cap and silk scarf like they did in the old days, there was a piano on the float and crates of beer (laughs) and we were all blind drunk by the time we got to the park. That was really good, I think somebody nearly fell off the float one year (laughs) going along the road."
- RG
