The last two weeks in London have been such an affirmation of the universality of our stories and of issues around identity, belonging and displacement. “Why launch in the UK?” is a question that I have been asked more than once.
One motivation was that, after speaking at Xavier University of New Orleans, and in Edinburgh and London a year ago, I wanted the book to be more easily available internationally. The other was the constant reminders of the rise of racism, hatred and bigotry, and how my experience of growing up in South Africa resonates with anyone who has grown up with institutional and entrenched discrimination. These themes are not limited to a single country.
The London book launch attracted friends, friends of friends, and adopted family, to the green community space that is The Onion Garden. I have watched Jens Jakobsen over the last four years, change a patch of concrete into this little sanctuary in the centre of a busy metropolis and it felt like the right place to launch my little book into the world.
I brought my ancestors along in the form of my grandmother’s doilies, photographs of my parents and grandparents, and the food. Having searched for “Cape Town-style” samoosas and dhaltjies in vain, I serendipitously came across the Oitij-jo Collective a women’s collective that focuses on Bengali culture and arts… and there were the local treats I had grown up with.
Finding koesisters the way my grandmother made them, proved to be a bigger challenge. My grandmother made the fried doughnuts dipped in sugar syrup and rolled in coconut every week. When my father was young, he and his brothers would sell them door-to-door on Sunday mornings. So I rolled up my sleeves, donned the apron and made them myself! I think my grandmother would have been pleased.
I have enjoyed conversations with Letitia George on BBC Radio Leicester, Debbie Golt for Outerglobe on Resonance FM. There have been a couple of written pieces, including How to Write a Memoir for online writing magazine, Writing.ie.
Thank you for the warm welcome, London!
Featured image: With Debbie Golt
