Your London Legacy was born out of my love for London. I have travelled far and wide, and as much I get so much pleasure from seeing new places around the world, I always look forward to getting back home to London. I cannot think of anywhere else in the world, that has the same depth of history, the coming together of ancient and new cultures, fashions and religions and our hard-won freedom of speech.
London is a global leader in banking and has the highest concentration of Universities and further education in Europe. It attracts vast number of business travelers and international students, and visitors, and has some of the very best restaurants anywhere in the world.
But for all that is changing London has retained that classic element that sets it apart from every capital in the world. From the ancient icons like the Tower of London to musical phenomena such as Adele, this sprawling wonder of humanity has an endless supply of attractions.
But on their own, attractions tell only part of London’s incredible story. For without Londoners there would be no attractions and no story, and without Londoners, there would be no legacy. The legacy that we can all too easily take for granted as we wander round London’s ancient streets, sip coffee in her beautiful parks, share a beer with our mates in her wonderful pubs, or as we take in one the myriad of world class museums.
There are over 8 million residents in London, from the inner-city housing estate, to the urban sprawl and ever growing suburbs to the luxury of Kensington and Belgravia. No matter where Londoners live, they are all part of the wonderful melting pot that makes Londoners what they are. Unique. Young and old, rich and poor, they all have a story to tell. A story of passion, of struggle, belonging, laughter, creating, desperation, and yes sometimes loneliness and fear. London is far from perfect, but it is home and has been since the Romans settled in 50AD. And it keeps on growing year on year, so we must be doing something right.
Londoner’s are a special breed. They are about spirit and embracing changes that are constantly going on around them.
Your London Legacy tells the timeless stories of London’s hidden personalities’’ by interviewing Londoners from every walk of life, in every community. It was born out of my desire to share the legacy of Londoners with you. We all have a story to tell.
I’m Steve Lazarus and this is Your London Legacy.
All content for Your London Legacy is the property of Steve Lazarus • The London Podcaster and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
Your London Legacy was born out of my love for London. I have travelled far and wide, and as much I get so much pleasure from seeing new places around the world, I always look forward to getting back home to London. I cannot think of anywhere else in the world, that has the same depth of history, the coming together of ancient and new cultures, fashions and religions and our hard-won freedom of speech.
London is a global leader in banking and has the highest concentration of Universities and further education in Europe. It attracts vast number of business travelers and international students, and visitors, and has some of the very best restaurants anywhere in the world.
But for all that is changing London has retained that classic element that sets it apart from every capital in the world. From the ancient icons like the Tower of London to musical phenomena such as Adele, this sprawling wonder of humanity has an endless supply of attractions.
But on their own, attractions tell only part of London’s incredible story. For without Londoners there would be no attractions and no story, and without Londoners, there would be no legacy. The legacy that we can all too easily take for granted as we wander round London’s ancient streets, sip coffee in her beautiful parks, share a beer with our mates in her wonderful pubs, or as we take in one the myriad of world class museums.
There are over 8 million residents in London, from the inner-city housing estate, to the urban sprawl and ever growing suburbs to the luxury of Kensington and Belgravia. No matter where Londoners live, they are all part of the wonderful melting pot that makes Londoners what they are. Unique. Young and old, rich and poor, they all have a story to tell. A story of passion, of struggle, belonging, laughter, creating, desperation, and yes sometimes loneliness and fear. London is far from perfect, but it is home and has been since the Romans settled in 50AD. And it keeps on growing year on year, so we must be doing something right.
Londoner’s are a special breed. They are about spirit and embracing changes that are constantly going on around them.
Your London Legacy tells the timeless stories of London’s hidden personalities’’ by interviewing Londoners from every walk of life, in every community. It was born out of my desire to share the legacy of Londoners with you. We all have a story to tell.
I’m Steve Lazarus and this is Your London Legacy.
The Dramatic Story Of Lady Unchained – The Inspirational Poet & Founder of ‘Unchained Poetry’, The Platform For Artists With Personal Experience Of The Criminal Justice System
Your London Legacy
1 hour 36 minutes 36 seconds
5 years ago
The Dramatic Story Of Lady Unchained – The Inspirational Poet & Founder of ‘Unchained Poetry’, The Platform For Artists With Personal Experience Of The Criminal Justice System
This week’s amazing guest is the inspirational Brenda Birungi, aka Lady Unchained. Lady Unchained is a Poet and founder of Unchained Poetry, a platform for artists with experience of the criminal justice system.
In 2008, 20-year-old Brenda got into a fight in a club whilst trying to protect her sister from being attacked. Serving 11 months of her prison sentence—her life changed completely. Whilst her experience was shocking Brenda looks back on and forward to a bright future with a mission to prove there is life after prison. Through poetry she tells her own personal story and the story of those with similar lived experience, that as she says are often left untold due to shame, stigma, and negative labels.
Lady Unchained has worked with several charities, hosted inspirational story telling nights, though poetry and music performed by artists who have experienced the justice system first-hand. She also co hosts for National Prison Radio’s show We are Straightline, a show about getting out and staying out of prison.
Brenda’s life has been anything other than linear, but she is most definitely on the way up and making a positive impact. This is Your London Legacy.
“A key is a symbol of freedom—so to give somebody a key, for me, only made me feel like they were mocking me.”
16:20
Brenda moved out at 17, a young age no doubt, with plenty to learn about herself and the world. She did have a dependable personality, as she was always being called upon to help people out with this that or the other, but this made it hard for her to reach out and ask for help herself. Perhaps this dovetailed one fateful night at a party, where her sister was attacked, and through her intervention—ended up taking a year-long probation that placed her in prison.
“Everything in jail that you say, do—has an effect on when you get out. What privileges you have. Everything.”
51:10
Strangely enough, it was the poor treatment she received in jail that led her to start writing poetry. Writing notes and journaling about the different injustices she faced on a daily basis there—including not being accepted as “British”, which led to her hunger striking and eventually being transferred to another prison. But she studied English and got her A levels while in jail and continued to write upon her eventual release—a whole other adventure in itself where she had to rediscover who Brenda was through volunteering and art.
Brenda came across National Prison Radio, and after her first performance on We Are Straightline, knew she had gone to jail for a reason and wanted to dedicate herself to “Lady Unchained” her moniker for her post jail self and the art she creates.
While Covid in itself has brought about triggering memories just with the term “lockdown”—you can still come across her work online until venues reopen up. Brenda is a lovely soul and overly talented poet, and you’d be doing a disservice to yourself to not seek out her works and even TEDx talk online.
Links
Twitter: https://twitter.com/UnchainedP (@UnchainedP)
https://www.unchainedpoetry.com/ (UnchainedPoetry.com)
https://www.instagram.com/unchainedpoetry/ (Instagram)
https://soundcloud.com/unchained-poetry (Soundcloud)
https://www.ted.com/talks/lady_unchained_proving_there_is_life_after_prison_one_poem_at_a_time (TEDx Talk)
Your London Legacy
Your London Legacy was born out of my love for London. I have travelled far and wide, and as much I get so much pleasure from seeing new places around the world, I always look forward to getting back home to London. I cannot think of anywhere else in the world, that has the same depth of history, the coming together of ancient and new cultures, fashions and religions and our hard-won freedom of speech.
London is a global leader in banking and has the highest concentration of Universities and further education in Europe. It attracts vast number of business travelers and international students, and visitors, and has some of the very best restaurants anywhere in the world.
But for all that is changing London has retained that classic element that sets it apart from every capital in the world. From the ancient icons like the Tower of London to musical phenomena such as Adele, this sprawling wonder of humanity has an endless supply of attractions.
But on their own, attractions tell only part of London’s incredible story. For without Londoners there would be no attractions and no story, and without Londoners, there would be no legacy. The legacy that we can all too easily take for granted as we wander round London’s ancient streets, sip coffee in her beautiful parks, share a beer with our mates in her wonderful pubs, or as we take in one the myriad of world class museums.
There are over 8 million residents in London, from the inner-city housing estate, to the urban sprawl and ever growing suburbs to the luxury of Kensington and Belgravia. No matter where Londoners live, they are all part of the wonderful melting pot that makes Londoners what they are. Unique. Young and old, rich and poor, they all have a story to tell. A story of passion, of struggle, belonging, laughter, creating, desperation, and yes sometimes loneliness and fear. London is far from perfect, but it is home and has been since the Romans settled in 50AD. And it keeps on growing year on year, so we must be doing something right.
Londoner’s are a special breed. They are about spirit and embracing changes that are constantly going on around them.
Your London Legacy tells the timeless stories of London’s hidden personalities’’ by interviewing Londoners from every walk of life, in every community. It was born out of my desire to share the legacy of Londoners with you. We all have a story to tell.
I’m Steve Lazarus and this is Your London Legacy.
