Eid Party at School

I have been living in England for nine and a half years. I often get the question: "So what brought you here?" to which I infallibly answer: " Work...".

"Do you like it here?"

"Well, the weather is c**p, I miss my family, but people are nice".

I could also add that people are on the whole very tolerant and open-minded. This is illustrated by this letter the school sent out last week.

Our school is your bog-standard suburban state primary school with about 20% children from an ethnic minority background. 

This morning, all children wore bright party clothes instead of their navy and green uniforms. There was a palpable festive buzz in the playground. Parents were wishing their children a great Eid party. 

It was lovely! How inclusive is that?

I can hardly imagine something similar happening in a state school in other parts of the world...

Jubilee, Home and Nostalgia

Today is one of those days. Feeling down and sad, for no particular reason. I miss my parents, I miss home.

We went to the library this morning, in search of inspiration for BK1's poetry "assignment". In the wake of her Mysterios Poem, her teacher has asked her to write a poem on the Queen's Jubilee, and send it to the Queen. Hardly inspirational, less than Roald Dahl in any case...

Anyway, here we are in the library. A mum is telling her friend she is invited to a wedding this evening.
When was the last time I attended a wedding? My neighbour's in Algeria, two years ago.

A realisation dawns on me: My children will probably never take part in adult celebrations in the UK. We have no family here; the only celebrations we get invited to are children's birthdays.

I have vivid memories of weddings, circumcision parties, diploma celebrations and the like in my childhood: games, lamb couscous, baklava and qnidlat, traditional costumes and dresses, gold and silver jewellery, music and zerna, dancing, family crises, gossip, cousins, friendships...

My daughters are missing out on this part of culture, because neither of BabelDad nor me are home.

I wonder how this will impact on their perceptions of fun and sense of belonging somewhere. Where will home be for them?