I'm still on a little adventure, growing up and working it out.
On the move, seeing things
I remember loads of little moments that just add up to what I was then. Sometimes I spot things on the bus or on the high street — "I see the first little move on the right side, bookies" — and I keep it real: I'm not trying to promote anything, I'm just noticing what's going on. A small detail can stick with you, like seeing a little fence near the post office when I was on the top of the bus.
School, Willowfield and shifting ground
School life shifted for me when I moved to Willowfield. I can't pin the exact year in my head — "depending on my year, I'm February" — but I do know it felt like a turning point. Willowfield was near my mum, so being there made life easier and I was back in a place I wanted to be. I was starting to learn, and at the same time starting to rebel a bit, but mostly I wanted to be at home with my mum.
The care system and social workers
There were official bits to it too. I used to see my social worker at the old Area 5 place on Higham Hill — "It used to be called Area 5" — and you'd have to go in and check how you were getting on. I started to question things and felt I needed a backup; even though my mum was "a lovely woman" and I wanted to be with her, the system was always there in the background and it influenced how things played out for me and my siblings.
Family, growth and small domestic truths
My family life was busy and full of the normal mess of being a kid. My brother and I would get locked in a room sometimes during rowdy weekends — "there's blues and all that weekend raise from Fridays and Monday. Me and my brother used to get locked in the room" — but even with that, I wanted to be at home. By the early nineties, me and my brother were coming out the other side of the care system; older siblings had completed it before us, so I had a sense of how things might end up.
A small adventure, still figuring it out
At the end of the day, that's what it was: a small adventure. I say it straight — "Yeah, but I'm still on a little adventure to be fair" — because I'm still growing up and working it out. I was always eager to be listening and seeing things, a bit more observant than some, and those little observations are part of the story of how I learned where I belonged.
Adapted from my video with AI assistance. The video is the original account.
Read the video transcript +
I'm just growing up, working it out. Yeah, but I'm still on a little adventure to be fair. So anyway, we get on the bus. I said I see the first little move on the right side, bookies and people think I'm not trying to promote nothing, but that's what's going on. Yeah, that's what's going on. So I see a little something occur. I mean, my brother used to see things. My brother Richard wasn't not saying he wasn't observant, but he was just he was all right. He was chilled. He was I was always eager to be listening and seeing things. Yeah. Anyway, we go to back to the show. I'm on the bus. So now, so now this is where I'm stories changing a bit because I'll get cabs to school. So this is definitely a Saturday when I was seeing these odds and sods. I'm getting a cab to school in the morning. I didn't see that in a cab. I was on the top of the bus when I see that little fence near the post office. Anyway, yeah, so we go back to school now. So anyway, yeah, I'm back. I'm in Willowfield now. Yeah, this is where it's changed. So I'm in Willowfield because I know depending on my year, I'm February. So I'm thinking if I went to Willowfield from 10 or was I coming on 11? But anyway, I'm moving to Willowfield. Willowfield is next to my mom. So it's easier. So even though I'm going to start learning, I'm starting to rebel now. Not rebel, but remember, my mom was happy for me and my brother to be there. And my social worker used to be on Higham Hill. It used to be called Area 5. Yeah. So if you know them days, that was a social center. So you used to have to go there, see your social worker, how you getting on. But them time, I told you, I started having my backup with these people because I started saying, I'm not sure what you're saying to me because my mom's a lovely woman. I want to go there. I want to be there. That's it. So now I think there's a care order coming up. I think 2992, 1993 where because my older brother, Tony and Vanessa, remember they're older. So I think they completed the care system. Yeah. So I think you stayed till you're 18. Yeah, correct. Yeah. So you completed the care system. Me and my brother by 1990, 91, 92, we completed the. Yes, I was in Willowfield school anyway. So me and Willowfield. So as I said again, me and Willowfield. So this is where it gets better for me. Well, not better for me because I'm 100% better for me because I'm back. I'm constantly in and out my mom's house now. And to me, I don't want to not be in my mom's house because it's a very busy household. There's a lot of people there. You want to be nice. I want to be at home with my mom. Yeah. Even though there's blues and all that weekend raise from Fridays and Monday. Me and my brother used to get locked in the room.
