Pearly Queen, Lorraine Wells talks about living in Harold Hill

What brought you to settle in Havering? I lived in Stoke Newington and there were so many problems there. I was the chair of an action group in the area and I helped to clean the area up. I remember a police officer told me: “Lorraine, you need to get your kids out of here while you still can.” I just took his advice.

How does Havering compare to where you may have lived before? Havering is a lot cleaner than Stoke Newington. There is also less crime in Havering.

You have a day off and choose to spend it in Romford. What would you get up to? I would spend the day with my grandchildren. I like going around the shops in Romford. I would go to a cafe and, even better, to a pie and mash shop.

If you could change one thing about Romford, what would it be? I remember coming to Romford when I was a little girl. The market used to have a homely feel to it. It is not like that any more. I think the council needs to do more to get the market back to how it used to be.

You are forced to move to a desert island for a month. You are allowed to take one album. Which one would you take and why? I would take Bobby Darin’s Mack The Knife. He was just fantastic. I could just sit on the island all day and just listen to it, I would be very happy.

Who is the most inspiring person you have ever met? It has to be my granddad, he was my hero. Come rain or shine he would stand in Petticoat Lane market collecting money for children. He went all over the world and told everyone about the work that we do.