Local lad Billy Bragg uncovers his family history at Valence House

Singer-songwriter Billy Bragg, nicknamed ‘The Bard of Barking’ is one of the most successful artists to have come out of the borough. He has just received the prestigious Ivor Novello Award for outstanding contribution to British music so we thought we would catch up with the man himself and explore his early days growing up in Barking and historical family ties with the help of the Archives and Local Studies Centre at Valence House.

If you would to learn more about your own family history, find out about the Valence History Helpdesk.

Windrush anniversary celebrated in Barking and Dagenham

To mark the 70th anniversary of it's arrival, Barking and Dagenham Council organised a celebration held at Barking Town Hall. Featuring live music as well as speeches from the High Commissioner of Jamaica and Patrick Vernon OBE, the event focused on the positive impact the Windrush generation had on Britain, especially the NHS.

Barking and Dagenham at Pride London [2018]

For the first time in London Pride’s 46-year history, Barking and Dagenham Council were invited to attend the parade.

As part of the celebrations, two young people from Barking and Dagenham College designed an LGBTQIA+ mural and Pride parade t-shirts for everyone attending the parade to wear.

Watch all of the highlights from the parade here as Barking and Dagenham showed its Pride and support for the LGBTQIA+ community in the borough and beyond.

The woman behind London's new film studio | OBLive

We get behind the scenes of Barking and Dagenham's film industry and meet Head of Film LBBD's (Barking and Dagenham Council's film office) Lisa Dee. Lisa discusses the future of film in London. And talks about the female empowerment movement and what that means for the film industry.