Luton in 50 Objects exhibition shows items from 'working class families'

Louise Parry & Sam Read - BBC News, Bedfordshire
·2 min read
A red hat on display
This boater, made by local milliner Trudy Comfort, is on display at Wardown House in Luton [Sam Read/BBC]
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

An author said an exhibition he has curated told people's stories "from the ground up" rather than "the story of the high and mighty".

Sarfraz Manzoor has created "Luton in 50 Objects", to mark 50 years since he moved to the town from Pakistan.

The display at Wardown House showcases Luton's diversity and heritage.

"I wanted this to be a people's exhibition. I really like the fact that the objects are essentially from working class families," he said.

He added it was "a little bit bonkers" to see items "that are deeply personal belonging to someone growing up in an ordinary place in an ordinary town".

Diary entry with Bruce Springsteen photo
Sarfraz Manzoor's scrapbook features cuttings of Bruce Springsteen, who inspired his film 'Blinded by the Light' [Sam Read/BBC]

The writer's memoir about living in Luton as a British Pakistani teen was adapted for the film Blinded by the Light.

"It is this story, the story of Luton, that I want to tell through the personal objects belonging to the people of Luton," he said.

Sarfraz Manzoor installed as the new chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire
Sarfraz Manzoor was made chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire [University of Bedfordshire/Kevin Line]

The 50 items on display include telegrams and love letters.

There is also a 1958 football programme, a Vauxhall payslip and dress and hat-making materials.

Old sewing machine
This sewing machine was brought over from India by a woman who made her own clothes [Dawid Wojtowicz/BBC]

Exhibition producer Hafiza Mohammed said the telegrams were "really important" for the South Asian communities in Luton and beyond in the '70s, '80s and '90s.

"This was a way that people communicated with loved ones back home," she said.

"They will tell you about death, marriage, whether people were going to visit them, and they were very, very short because we had to pay by the letter."

Sarfraz Manzoor as a child
Sarfraz Manzoor also donated a shirt he wore at his fourth birthday in Luton, which has sentimental value [Sarfraz Manzoor]

Mr Manzoor has donated a poem, notes from his diary aged nine and a pink shirt that he wore to his fourth birthday party to the museum.

He said: "It's almost like each object is a door and we go through it. You get into the family history and that history can come from all different places.

"The connective tissue is Luton. That's where we all ended up, even though we came from different places. It's kind of a conversation between the past, the present and the future."

Luton in 50 Objects runs until 16 November.

Got a story? Email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 0800 169 1830