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Our Windrush: Eleanor Lofters at DIO

Global Ethnic Majority

Our Windrush: Eleanor Lofters

My Grandmother Vianna (Nanny as we called her) arrived in England in 1958 through her local church in Newcombe Valley, St. Elizabeth, Jamaica. She came to an unwelcoming country and firmly rooted herself within it and for that I am grateful. In fact, it was in the house where she was renting a room that she first met my Grandad, James. Sometimes I would tease her and say “why would you leave paradise for Birmingham, are you mad?!” but I know she did it for me, long before I was even born. She did it for a better life knowing that it wouldn’t necessarily be her life that was better off, but the life of her family yet to come.

I was fortunate enough to go back to Jamaica with her and see practically the whole island. We would forage for fruit, swim in waterfalls, and walk miles between family houses. It was on this holiday that I realised just how resilient she was at such a young age. I couldn’t imagine leaving everything I’ve ever known for something so alien. Some people are Orchids, and some are Dandelions, she was a whole field of Dandelions. We bury her 2 days before Windrush Day and I almost feel as if I have lost a big part of my Jamaican identity. The last time I saw her was Good Friday and she taught me how to make escovitch just like she taught me how to make dumplings as a child. For me, the real legacy of The Empire Windrush is the family I have around me, the culture I am apart of and the teachings that I will one day pass down. Keeping traditions alive help, us to hold on to our identity, even when the people who taught us are gone and that is what I will take with me each day.

The Next Generation

The Next Generation

Eleanor Lofters

By Eleanor Lofters

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