Claire Bower
I moved to Plymouth about 21 years ago from London. And the first place we moved to was sort of off St Levans Road. We rented a place until we bought a place up in the main bit of Stoke and we wouldn’t live anywhere else… At the moment I work for the International Menopause Society. I work at home, in Stoke, in our house now.
I’m in a band with my brother, we play a lot locally, played at Stoke Festival last year. And hopefully this year, I reckon.
I’ve been involved in a hidden histories project. I think it’s really important about embracing diversity within Stoke, and obviously I come from a mixed heritage background. So I think it’s really important to embrace that, and we are doing that more in the city with the various different things, like having a statue for Jack Leslie.
I think Plymouth has changed enormously, and it’s about that sort of cultural diversity and representation that now exists in Plymouth. I think everyone needs to embrace it. And we live in, kind of, a really harsh world. We also live in a really lovely world. But I think, you know, the heart of community is about different cultures and people getting on and being, and that’s often what exists at the heart of community.
I think it’s really important to grow that and recognise that because at grassroots level, this is what happens.
We all just get on and live lives and want to be happy and just live in our homes. And be safe and secure. And unfortunately, you know, sometimes the powers that be, they they go off and do crazy things that we don’t agree, and we don’t want to happen. And I think that’s what my, sort of, values would be really.