Page 13 - C.A.L.L. #40 - Winter 2015

Keith Soutar, a retired social worker who has Parkinson’s disease, talks
emotionally about the support he receives in the Islington commune. His fellow
residents, who prefer the word community to commune, had railings fitted so
that he could move around safely. They organised a rota to help him get up in
the mornings, cook for him regularly and remind him to take his medication. One

housemate designed “pit-stops” out of old shelves and cushions to make Soutar’s
journeys from room to room easier.

Sylvia Bayliss, who has lived in the Kingston commune

with her sister, Jan, for 37 years, credits the
commune with helping her to overcome chronic
shyness. “When I moved in with all these people I
thought, oh my God, it’s quite scary. Gradually I got
more confidence. It really has helped me.”

Dermot Cahalane, who has lived communally since 1971,
concedes that the lifestyle does not suit everyone.
“It’s not perfect but, in the main, it’s an ideal way of
living in this day and age with all the alienation.”

Peter Keserue and Rick One Housing Group (OHG), the housing association
Mantha at 44 Islington that owns the two properties, disagrees. Last month
Park Road. it wrote to the communes’ residents saying it
intended to “decant” them. Many now fear that the quaint-sounding phrase
means they are to be evicted with no offer of alternative accommodation. But
even those likely to be offered somewhere else to live do not want to leave
their communal way of life.

“There’s a wealth of knowledge, a wealth of abilities here,” said Rick Mantha,
who has lived in the Islington property for more than a quarter of a century.
“There’s people who can fix a car and people who can put up a website; there’s
an amazing interaction of people. Whatever you need, you can find it by knocking

on doors around here. It’s a brilliant model that more people should adopt.”

Indeed, the residents believe communal living – popular in cities such as Berlin –
is the antidote to an increasingly overcrowded, overheated world. “Economically

it makes much sense,” said Karen Grace, who has lived in the Islington commune
for five years. “We are a model for a different kind of community, a supportive
community. We are a dying breed. This is the time to save this kind of
community, not to get rid of it.”

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