Brixton Immortals

The Brixton Immortals Domino Club formed in the 1970s, as a team and wider community social club playing Dominoes in Brixton, London, United Kingdom.[1]

With Brixton Blog calling it "Brixton's most successful sport team"[2] it is synonymous with the Brixton Domino Club building, now called the Lloyd Leon Community Centre (LLCC).

History

It was founded in the 1970s by Lloyd Leon MBE (who went on to become Lambeth's first Black mayor)[3][4][1] with George Palmer and others from the Caribbean elder community.[5][3]

Its first base was on Acre Lane, later The Atlantic pub on Coldharbour Lane (where Leon was the then pub landlord)[6] before settling at the building at 297-299 Coldharbour Lane now known as the Lloyd Leon Community Centre.[3]

It is noted for being frequented by the community's Windrush Generation and the wider Caribbean community.[7] Although first and foremost a team, the club acts as a social space and has long been an informal support network and a self help institution.[5] Local MP Helen Hayes commended the club remarking upon the Dominoes game being "an important and fundamental part of the heritage of this area".[3]

Dominoes is widely played in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean,[8] so sits strongly in the identity of the London Caribbean diaspora.

The 1990s saw the team play in the United Kingdom Domino League.[9] Lord Scarman and Lambeth's mayor were among attendees at the 1990s finals held at Lambeth Town Hall.[10]

The club now takes part in the Anglo Caribbean Dominoes League (ACDL), winning in 2018. In 2019 the immortals invited a USA team to the club to play against a UK team made up of players from local clubs.[11][4]

The current head of the club is Mervin Stewart[12] and is sponsored by the Victoria Credit Union in Jamaica.[1]

Club activity and social events

The club has held dominoes meetings and tournaments at Lambeth Town Hall since the 1980s[13] as well as Windrush Square in central Brixton.[14] The club regularly holds tournaments as part of Lambeth's Windrush Day celebrations.[15][16][17] Also the borough's Black History Month celebrations[18] and Jamaica Independence Day.[19]

Events have been attended and supported by local politicians Bell Ribero-Addy, Helen Hayes and Sonia Winifred.[18][20]

In recent years the Ubele organisation has supported the Domino Club in building capacity and supporting its management, as well as future planning and refurbishment for the Lloyd Leon Community Centre.[12]

Other Domino clubs in the London Borough of Lambeth include UK Diamonds ladies, Clapham Eagles, Clapham Dominoes Club, Myatt Field Park, Bradford, Crawford Foundation, Knight's Hill, The Golden Anchor and the Cosmopolitan Sports and Social Club, among others.[21][18][22][8] The UK Diamonds ladies have a crossover membership with the Immortals, share the same headquarters at the LLCC and encourage women of all ages to get involved in what has traditionally been seen as a game more popular with men and elders in the community, rather than young women.[1]

The club do frequent outreach events at festivals and teaching Dominoes to young people at local schools.[23][4]

White building on a road
The Immortals' headquarters, Lloyd Leon Community Centre at 297-299 Coldharbour Lane.

Headquarters at the Lloyd Leon Community Centre

The club has operated out of the Lloyd Leon Community Centre (LLCC), a Grade II listed building at 297-299 Coldharbour Lane.[24][19] The building houses the domino clubs, Brixton Soup Kitchen and Lawyers In The Soup Kitchen.[25][26]

The building, converted from two 19th Century terrace houses was opened as the Brixton Sports & Social Club, given to the local Black community following recommendations of the Scarman report after the 1981 Brixton Uprising.[27][28][6] It was subsequently known as the Domino Club,[2] being renamed the Lloyd Leon Community Centre after the Club's founder in recent years.

As of 2022, the building is currently closed for repairs and refurbishment.[1]

References
  1. Gregory, Ruby (2 November 2021). "London's first all-female dominoes team proving it's not just an old man's game". MyLondon. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  2. "Share your ideas on the Domino Club's future". Brixton Blog. 2 July 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  3. Slingsby, Alan (10 February 2020). "Praise for Brixton Domino Club as it looks to future". Brixton Blog. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  4. Slingsby, Alan (23 March 2019). "Brixton Immortals celebrate, honour the past and look to the future". Brixton Blog. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  5. Holgate, Jane; Pollert, Anna; Keles, Janroj; Kumarappan, Leena (2012). "De-collectivization and employment problems: the experiences of minority ethnic workers seeking help through Citizens Advice". Work, Employment & Society. 26 (5): 772–788. doi:10.1177/0950017012451641. ISSN 0950-0170. JSTOR 43495536. S2CID 154436256 – via JSTOR.
  6. "Brixton landmark set for restoration". Brixton Blog. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  7. Urban, Mike (23 May 2022). "Free Community Health Workshops – and championship domino matches – at Lambeth Town Hall, 28th May and 11th June 2022". Brixton Buzz. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  8. Domino: A Cultural Odyssey. 2011.
  9. Freud, Clement (6 October 1995). "Dinner, dance and the domino effect - Freud On Friday". The Times. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  10. Beattie, Geoffrey (1998). Hard lines : voices from deep within a recession. Manchester: Manchester University Press. p. 209. ISBN 0-7190-5362-5. OCLC 39354317.
  11. Slingsby, Alan (20 June 2019). "Brixton Immortals welcome US domino team". Brixton Blog. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  12. "The Ubele Initiative - Reigniting a Nation for Greatness: Further to Go Moving Beyond Celebration to Legacy Building". www.ubele.org. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  13. "DOMINOS CLUB, TOWN HALL, BRIXTON". Lambeth Landmark. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  14. "Members of Brixton Immortals Dominos Club play dominos at Windrush..." Getty Images. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  15. "Brixton's community celebrates Windrush70". Love Lambeth. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  16. "Lambeth's Windrush Festival 2022 – We Are Here". Love Lambeth. 13 June 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  17. "Brixton Immortals domino club showcase". Brixton Blog on Twitter. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  18. Slingsby, Alan (1 November 2021). "Brixton domino club's Black History Month event hears of a new future". Brixton Blog. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  19. "Celebrate Jamaica independence day in Brixton". Brixton Blog. 4 August 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  20. Ribeiro-Addy, Bell (30 October 2021). "Welcoming Back Brixton Immortals Dominos Club". Bell Ribeiro-Addy. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  21. Ubele Social impact Report 2020-21 (PDF) (Report). October 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  22. "Brixton Immortals still top domino league". Brixton Blog. 9 October 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  23. "Immortals spread the word". Brixton Bugle. September 2019. p. 24. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  24. "The Ubele Initiative - Lloyd Leon Community Centre". www.ubele.org. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  25. "Unpicking Lambeth's latest Culture package" (PDF). Brixton Society newsletter. October 2015. p. 3. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  26. Quinn, Linda (10 December 2017). "Brixton lawyers who turn nobody away". Brixton Blog. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  27. Urban, Mike (11 September 2020). "Re-imagining a Black-led Community Space in the former Brixton Dominoes Club – online event, 15th Sept 2020". Brixton Buzz. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  28. Lambeth Council (13 May 2021). "Designers announced for important Brixton community centre". Love Lambeth. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
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