anniversary

Today marks a very special day in my personal history. My dad mentioned to me yesterday that it's the 29th anniversary of my arrival in Canada.

Not long before we made the decision to decamp, my parents were living in the gritty neighbourhood of Brixton, in South London. My dad was making his way as an accountant and my mum was walking me around the markets. I was the first grandchild, so we went up to Lancashire and Yorkshire fairly often to see the grandparents.

Perhaps it was frustration with the Britishness of everything, or the fact that they were some of the first to have a child in their group of friends, or the need for change, but when it was offered that they could move to Vancouver with the company, my parents went for it.

And so, on February 8 twenty-nine years ago, they arrived in Vancouver airport. It was only supposed to be for two years and my mum worked part-time eventually until they were settled. They met friends through a babysitting coop and eventually, when the time came, wrote letters to their mums saying they weren't coming home.

My little sister came along soon after that, making her the first Webster in our family tree to be born in Canada.

Soon after we left London, the riots broke out in Brixton. Who knows what that would have meant if we'd stayed! The song below is a dedication to that turning point. Happy Monday everyone!