Author brings Rastamouse to life for our younger residents

Author Michael De Sousa brought his legendary crime busting character Rastamouse to life for a group of children and parents at two of our developments: Rectory Park, Ealing and Kilburn Quarter, South Kilburn.

The children’s writer read from his Rastamouse books at an event at Rectory Park estate on 26 October organised by leading housing association Network Homes as part of its Black History Month celebrations.

The books, which feature a crime fighting mouse and his reggae band ‘Da Easy Crew’, have been turned into a BBC show and the lucky youngsters engaged in an interactive reading with fun costumes. An African drumming teacher was also on hand to bash out a few musical numbers and offer drumming lessons to the children.  

We're is leading the regeneration of Rectory Park, transforming the estate with 449 new homes and a new community centre. And Kilburn Quarter is an award winning development which was completed in 2017, replacing two run down tower blocks with 229 quality homes.

Michael Da Sousa, creator of Rastamouse said: “It was great to see children of all ages take part along with their parents and staff. The children were very attentive and said how much they enjoyed the readings – some even said they felt encouraged to write themselves.”

Jon Dawson, Executive Director at Network Homes said: “We enjoy holding events for our residents and Black History Month was a fantastic opportunity to do so. Events such as these enable us to give something back to the diverse communities we serve.”

Joshua, 5 years old, said “I had a fun day, I liked dressing up as Rastamouse and I made a new friend and we played together.”

Nicholas, 10 years old, said “I always like the Network events because they’re fun. I especially liked the drumming lesson the best, because we don’t normally get a chance to play African drums.”