OVER 100 Islington residents, both past and present, will come together to exchange facts and anecdotes about the borough this weekend at an event organised through a social networking website.

Members of I Grew Up in Islington North London, a group on the popular internet site Facebook, are set to host their third Islington meet-up on Saturday evening at Browns, in Upper Street, and are already expecting over 100 people to attend.

Sue Jones, organiser of the Facebook group, said: “There are some people coming this Saturday from as far as Germany and France. People who have spread their wings but still remember when they used to live here want to connect with current residents and to see people that they might once have known.

“Last time there was a meeting I bumped into someone that I was friends with as a girl and we had a brilliant catch-up. People can come along for a chat or they can sit and eat, it’s entirely up to them. It would just be brilliant to see as many people there as possible.

“I know that there are some people who can’t come because of prior commitments but we will host more events in the future and we hope to see more new faces every time.”

Since its creation in 2008, the group’s popularity has continued to grow and it now boasts over 5,100 members. The website serves as a forum for Islington fans to discuss anything and everything about the borough, from the current cleanliness of the streets to the one-legged peanut salesman who once frequented the area.

Ms Jones, who now lives in Northampton, explained that many members visit the site to reminisce and connect with others who share similar childhood memories. She said: “Islington was incredibly unique when I was growing up in that there was a real sense of community. Everyone knew everyone and you really felt like you could count on the people around you. If you didn’t have a bag of sugar then your neighbour would lend you one.

“The members of the group share some incredible memories and we end up having discussions about various people who we used to see around and the different adverts that were on TV at the time.

“Denis Field, one of the group’s members, has spent hours uploading old photographs of the borough for us all. He still lives in Islington and his knowledge is incredible. We are all so grateful to him for his work.”

The group’s organisers are already preparing to host another event in the future and Ms Jones hopes the group’s popularity will continue to grow.

She said: “There are members in the group who live as far away as Australia and the Bahamas. Hopefully news will spread and more people will join up.

“The more the merrier.”