THE LAST CLAP
Ian Berry spends the 5pm clap for the NHS birthday with the neighbours at the mural in Walthamstow
photos by @gokhangoksoyphoto
Happy Birthday to the NHS
The NHS turned 72 this weekend and they had asked for a last clap to mark the moment at 5pm. Ian Berry and Matt aka ATMA decided to join the neighbours of the Shernall Street/Barrett Road area in Walthamstow where the Clapping Hands mural is. In one of the last true neighbourhoods of London with a great community spirit it was a great moment to share together
Lasting Legacy
The wall leaves a lasting legacy of the clapping, and while the projections lasted a night, this will be up for many years. Someone happy to see it is Isabel Zaki from UCL Hospital London seen here in the photo with the pans. She is carrying on working and while the clapping may end, the care continues. It was great for Ian and Matt to meet the locals, many who they had while the mural was being painted.
A positive part of the clapping has been neighbours coming together, especially in London, not famed for the most neighbourly of folk. From the first clap the noise could be heard all over the country. This last one may not have captured the public’s imagination as much as those first few weeks but it was great to get the goodwill in this corner of Walthamstow, London, especially as NHS staff were amongst them. Children were also there, the future, and will always remember the occasion and were gifted a lenticular print by Ian Berry.
The wall painting - produced by Wood Street Walls has had positive reception from the neighbours and the staff at the Bailey Practice on Shernall Street who own the wall. You can see more about it here. | photo by @gokhangoksoyphoto
Ian Berry with ATMA at their mural in Walthamstow. | photo by @gokhangoksoyphoto
Isabel Zaki from UCL Hospital London with her pans | photo by @gokhangoksoyphoto
Many of the neighbours on Barrett Road in Walthamstow. photo by @gokhangoksoyphoto