Diamonds and Merles

Merle Barriteau

Diamonds and Merles

Walk through South Kilburn with one of its most famous residents, and it’s not long before Aunty Merle is recognised. Her status is deserved.

Protecting The Granville, cooking for the needy and helping the young and old are just three of 73-year-old Merle Barriteau’s proudest successes.

She has spent over 40 years supporting her local community. And she has no plans to slow down any time soon.

Merle said: “I’ve always wanted to help people. And I’ve met so many wonderful people along the way. Every day it’s ‘Hi Aunty Merle’. Everyone knows me.”

Now a great-grandmother, Merle, who was born in Trinidad, first moved to London with her family in 1961 aged 17. She settled in South Kilburn 10 years later.

Her former café, Merle’s Diner, first opened at The Granville in the 1980s.

When it closed, 30 years later, Princess Anne, former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone and cricket legend Brian Lara were just three of the famous faces to have visited.

Merle ran a cafe at the Granville for 30 years

Rumour has it, superstar Beyonce was even a fan of Merle’s famed home recipes.

Merle said: “It started out just for the young people. Then it got bigger and bigger. We started doing meals for single parents, older people.

“All we wanted was for everyone who couldn’t afford to pay much to eat, to have a good meal. “Before I knew it, we had all these famous people coming down.

“One of Beyonce’s people on the road tried our sky juice. Well, she sent one of her bodyguards back in to buy a couple of gallons.”

Merle’s passion for helping others saw her mentor young men involved in crime and drugs, helping many back on to the straight and narrow. She also helped organise the legendary annual South Kilburn festival.

And, for good measure, working with other local activists, she helped protect The Granville’s position at the heart of the community.

In 2012, to thank Merle for her tireless work with the community, Brent Council named a new building in South Kilburn after her.

Merle had a local building named after her

Merle said: “Can you imagine, as a teenage black woman arriving here from the West Indies, that there would one day be a building named after me. I’d have said ‘not a chance!’”

South Kilburn is changing. A 15-year regeneration programme is half way through. It is building high-quality affordable homes for existing residents, to improve living conditions.

Merle said: “What I have seen so far is great, and people need better homes.

“But we also need to build a community together. There are people here from all over the world. We need to get to know each other and be friendly.”

With all the changes taking place, a new generation of South Kilburn residents will soon be saying hello to Aunty Merle.

She smiles and says: “I’ll be 73 this year. South Kilburn – you’re not gonna get rid of me yet!”