Where are you from? I’m frequently asked this question here in California. The accent is a bit of a giveaway that I’m not from around here (although I do feel like I’ve picked up a bit of an American twang in recent months). “I’m from England but I’ve lived in the US for a couple of years now,” is my standard answer. I don’t bother adding that I haven’t actually lived in England at all since 2013. But the easy part to understand is that I am British, originally. I sometimes wonder what my daughter will say if she’s asked this in the future. Although she was born and currently lives in California, she is a dual British and American citizen. Depending on where we live in the future, she might feel more of one or the other, neither or both. Her answer might become more complicated than mine.
Last September we braved the eleven hour flight from LA to Heathrow to introduce Little S to her English roots. It was much anticipated as we’ve only been to the UK one other time since we left for Beijing in 2013! We spent much of our most recent trip in my hometown in Leicestershire (I’ll have a separate post soon about our few days in London). Market Harborough wasn’t the most exciting place to live as a kid (there is no cinema, bowling alley or any of the other things pre-teens like to do) but every time I return I think it has become more and more charming. Even as a kid I was able to appreciate walks and bike rides in the countryside with my friends, but now there are also several cute coffee shops (my favourite being Bowden Stores, run my my friend Dominie), little shops (I just adored Lilly Loves Shopping- the cutest little stationery and home goods store around) and other great restaurants and shops.
I always love seeing the Old Grammar School when we visit. Built in 1614 as a school house, it has become an iconic image of Market Harborough. Another beautiful spot is the Union Canal basin in town and Foxton Locks (a series of canal locks) in the nearby village of Foxton. We didn’t actually end up walking around them this time but I’ve spent many a day at both (I actually used to work at the canal basin in my summer holidays preparing boats for vacation hire! Yes, I’ve had approximately 253 jobs since I was 13 years old). I bet Little S will be fascinated by them next time.
The point of our trip, of course, was to visit friends and family and introduce them to our daughter. We had a lovely time catching up with as many people as possible and taking lots of photos of them together with Little S. We also managed to go on the quintessential English children’s day out with my niece and nephew: to a farm park. English farm parks are nothing like the horrible petting zoo I had the misfortune of coming across here in California (I ended up telling off other families for mistreating the animals and then complaining to management about it). In country farm parks the animals live in lovely fields and, for the most part, you don’t go in to the pens, crowd them and try to ride on them! You can, however, buy buckets of food to feed them. It is a very pleasant experience and a lovely way for children to become familiar with animals and the countryside.
Other British experiences for Little S included tasting Yorkshire pudding (one of the most delicious foods on the planet), going on the train (so convenient, although not cheap) and going to the pub (more on that in a post to come but long story short, it’s quite normal in the UK to take kids into pubs during the daytime).
While she won’t remember this trip, she’ll be able to look back on the photos (including one we took of 4 generations of women in the family: Little S, me, my mother (her grandmother) and my nan (her great grandmother) and we will all carry the memories for her. And as she grows older, we will continue to take her back “home” to explore more of the UK. I’m looking forward to being able to take her out for afternoon tea and maybe to see the Royal Ballet one day. (Side note: one of my cousins, William, is an absolutely amazing ballet dancer in the Royal Ballet!).
As much as we had a wonderful time in the UK, I can’t say I was too sad about returning to the warmth of California. This is what it is too be lucky; to love coming home as much as going away. And lucky Little S, she will always have at least two places to call home.
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Do you remember your first international trip? Let me know in the comments!
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