The rooftops of Manchester , Valette When her mother brought Carmen to Manchester in September she packed a suitcase containing everything she might need. However, in contrast to the other girls in residential halls, Carmen didn't bring much. Other mothers piled their cars high with spatulas and teddy bears. 'Why have you so few things?' Carmen's neighbours asked her when they visited her room. To make up for this, when I went to Manchester to visit her, I brought Carmen: a ship-to-ship, butane-powered foghorn (and warned her not to use it near a naked flame); a red kitchen timer with a silver dial to help her manage time (softly ticking, and with a short, pleasant ring); a large non-stick kitchen knife with holes punched along its blade and a round tip; 50 blue-ink ball point pens (in five colours); plastic folders. multicoloured Post-it notes; flourescent sticky-backed blazes; a smoke alarm and, finally, glasses to allow her to see who was sneaking up behind.
Don’t argue with Arthur, your geologist great grandfather. Africa was really alongside America. Believe in the best bits Of British boys and girls and brothers Don’t try to change your children’s class and culture And confine them to a country. I'm Still dazed that, Dad, the free thinking socialist, died; Still amazed that Mom, Eve, was someone for everyone. She gave us love and set an example. I eat enough and provide English education here. Now they are far away, but my family is established. Some of us even found France again, Carmen was in Paris, But we have no French friends. And who gave God back to the Germans? Who gave them good government? This was not the experience of Granny and Grandpa in the 30s. No God, no good government then. The Halls were always half hard-heads and half home-help And they always had one foot in human history. Isidor, standing on the Sarajevo steps in 1914, I would have liked to have meet him