In the country

We spent a week in the Shropshire countryside, staying with my daughter's Grandma, in the house my husband grew up in alongside his two siblings. Little R played the piano and fed the ducks and visited the farm and travelled up and down the funicular railway. Just like her Daddy used to do. She also played with some of his old toys that his mother had saved.

A relaxing time was had though it was a relief (for me) to return to London. I grew up in the English countryside and my memories of it are mixed. Ours was the only non-white family in the village and we suffered under other people's racism and ignorance. I still steel myself a little whenever I pass through "the country". Moreover, I found village life tedious and boring as a teenager - once I'd grown out of the desire to run wild through fields with my friends all day. As soon as I could, I escaped to the dynamic and multicultural city.

But these are my issues and experiences and not my daughter's, so I am happy and grateful that through my husband's family my little Londoner has the opportunity to experience a slice of country life.