Councillor Harvinder Singh Virdee (Boleyn Ward) joined more than 70 local residents at a Reminiscence coffee morning held in honour of Queen Elizabeth II at the Katherine Road Community Centre.

In the run up to her funeral Newham libraries and community centres arranged for local residents to come together as a community, to remember the Queen and share their experiences during Reminiscence coffee mornings.

Jobrul, Community Neighbour Senior Officer for Green Street, explained that the staff were there to offer residents support, by referring them to the relevant services should they need further assistance.

Nusrat Yasin, Chairperson of the local women’s community group Fair & Share, wanted to attend the coffee morning to pay respect to the Queen and also sign the condolence book. She was a volunteer at Community Links when she met the then Prince Charles during a visit when he met with staff and volunteers.

Nusrat told Newham Voices: “We were trained how to present yourself and how to talk with him. He stayed for about 15 minutes and I had a photo taken with him. I was so happy I couldn’t express my feelings to my family. I still remember it clearly.”

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