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When I started at Jacksons Lane I was mostly unaware of the history of the building, but I soon heard stories of its pioneering community work and had heard that every year on Christmas Day the building was turned beautifully upside down for a celebration with older people. I also had heard of the mysterious couple that were ‘The Brookers’.

The first time I met Jan and Paul Brooker, I had offered to provide entertainment for the Christmas Day festivities. Through our conversation I learnt more about their role, and Paul’s in particular, as a founder of both Jacksons Lane and the community Christmas Day, which he had run since 1975, initially as a Haringey Community worker and later as a volunteer.  Paul came across as a dry, witty and inquisitive man, quietly spoken, and sometimes he and Jan would finish each other’s sentences, so close they were.

Over the years I got to know Paul and Jan much better and, when they decided that they would like to finally step down from managing Christmas Day, our team stepped in to take the project on, always with Jan and Paul’s watchful eye on hand to give us advice where needed.

Paul was hugely instrumental in the development of Jacksons Lane, and his vast influence has become ever more apparent as we’ve uncovered our archive over the last year.  His role as a Community Worker stretched across the Social Club, General Committee, building development works, fundraising, personnel and volunteers, the theatre training scheme, luncheon club and other activities.  Even when working in IT at Haringey Council, Paul continued to work tirelessly to keep Jacksons Lane thriving, taking on the roles of Chair and then treasurer, as well as dealing with countless practical issues over the years. The legacy of that dedication lives on in our activities today.

Paul was such an inspiration to us all, and until recently he was still meeting with us and helping unearth our history and its many stories.  We are sad to not be sharing our 50th birthday with him.

As we celebrate our anniversary this year, we will honour Paul’s legacy and keep his name alive in our hearts. We will miss you Paul.  Thank you for all you gave to us and all of our communities.

Written by our Artistic Director Adrian Berry.