“I Am Tooting…” Book Launch

Bounce is delighted to share the digital version of our new poetry book “I am Tooting…”

I am Tooting… is a collection of poetry and art by children and young people.

It was made as part of a collection of projects for Sugar & Spice, a 2021-22 community heritage project in Tooting.

Sugar & Spice turned the dial back in history. At the end of the Second World War, areas like Tooting needed to recover from the impact of bombings, rationing, and tragic loss of many lives. We set out to discover how the community was rebuilt after the war. How did the small stores and businesses flourish? How did migration positively impact Tooting?

Over the years, one of the unique things about Tooting has been the diversity of food on offer. In Tooting Market alone, you can sit around a bench with friends, and each have a different plate of food from a different part of the world.

Originally, we intended to celebrate this in a cookbook. However, as we started working on this, we came to appreciate the best stories came from the children celebrating themselves, as they began to talk about their own heritage through food and clothes. It illustrates how interconnected our world has become.

I am Tooting… is therefore a celebration of Tooting, its young people, their families, and their connections to the wider world in 2022.

Read it here: