I'm sitting in a children's home on purpose — I do it so what I say makes sense to the kids I'm trying to reach. I can't avoid mentioning my mum's life or where we lived: I grew up in Stoke, my parents took me and my brother to Jamaica and America, and we learned to craft and make do on a budget; I've also been invited into lots of homes, and that experience matters to the conversation I want to have about home, place and growing up.
Why I record from a children's home
I'm sitting in a children's home on purpose — it's how I make it land for the kids I'm talking to. I need to be honest about where I'm at so the message actually connects.
I can't avoid mentioning my mum's life while I'm here; it's part of the picture and I say that because the context matters to the kids listening.
Houses, estates and why that matters
There’s a whole point to me talking about houses and estates — I've always lived in a house, I know what that world feels like, and most of my mates lived in houses too. I say it because I want the listener to follow the direction I'm heading with that convo.
I'm trying to get kids to see the connections between where they live and where they might go; it's not some abstract lecture, it's about real places and real people I grew up with.
Growing up — Stoke, travel and family
We grew up in Stoke with lovely parents; they took me and my brother to Jamaica and America. That stuff matters because it shows a different side to our upbringing than people might assume.
I mention my bredren — me and my brother — because our upbringing included travel and family, even while other things were complicated.
Crafting, budgets and being invited in
From young we used to craft — make do, because budgets were tight. I'm not pretending it was all easy; I know what I went through and I'm still feeling it now when I visit homes.
People invited me into loads of homes when I was young; they showed interest in me — not in any weird way — but they wanted to see me and take me on. That matters because kids need to know they were seen, even if things were rough.
Adapted from my video with AI assistance. The video is the original account.
Read the video transcript +
So, basically, I'm in my children's home, because I have to do it like this so it makes sense to who I'm trying to reach out to, the kids. But I have to kind of go a little bit because I'm in this situation, innit? So I can't avoid talking about my mum's life. I also spent a lot of time there in the 80s, even though I was in the foster care, and some of these kids we relate to now. I want to know their journeys, how we changed the situation. So what I'm going to say, so yeah, stoked near them, I lived in the house. And you also realise when I'm talking, I've always lived in a house, as I know, in a house. So I've always lived in a house. I've visited people in a house, and I know all of my friends, and there's a point to why I'm saying this. I know all of my friends, a lot of my friends, they lived in houses. Yeah? So this is the conversation I'm going to get to, and I hope you can read where I'm heading with that little conversation about houses and estates quickly. But anyway, so we grew up in Stoke, lovely parents. They took me to Jamaica, America, me and my bredren, me and my bredren, sorry. So me and my brother, from young, we used to craft, innit? Just, because as I said, they've got a budget, so I was, remember, I'm very, I'm very, I know what I was going on, and I'm actually, that's the word I'm looking for. I'm actually experiencing this now, because I've been to a few homes, and I'm young, and not only a few homes, I've been invited to loads of homes. As I said, people was inviting me. They was happy to want to see me, take me on, remember, not in no funny way, but yeah, they showed interest in me as a kid.
