Little House on the Prairie
I grew up in a small town on the Canadian Prairies. I was also a faithful watcher of all that went on in the lives of the inhabitants of Walnut Grove. Today, as I walked out of Buxton's 'shopping centre' (much smaller than the one in the Sherwood Park of my childhood) I was reminded of one episode in 'Little House on the Prairie'. As Laura Ingalls came out of the family barn she saw an orphan and came out with this line: 'Wow, a real live negro!' Exclamation mark indeed.
I saw a black man today and it saddens me to say that I was a bit shocked. The shock involved the realisation that he is one of a handful (that might be generous) of black people or, for that matter, non-white people, that I have seen in Buxton.
One of the many things I miss about London is its cosmopolitan nature. In the ten years I lived there I took for granted the fact that each and every day I would see many different faces and hear many different languages spoken around me. I miss that, and although I think Derbyshire is a great place for my kids to grow up, I am sad that they won't be continually exposed to such multiculturalism. Suffice it to say we will have to make many outings to neighbouring Manchester (and London, of course).
I often wish I could bring the best of my two (or three, or four...) worlds together, but that's impossible because what makes one place great is wrapped up in the fact that it has what the other places don't.
Don't get me wrong. I love Buxton and although I've had the occasional pang for London I haven't regretted for a minute the decision to move up north. Part of the joy of living here is that it has already become a bit of a haven for our friends in the south - nothing like the rolling hills of Derbyshire to ease the grind of urban dwelling. Here are some pics from the epic 13-mile walk we took with some of our London friends this past weekend...in the past we would have had to drive a LONG time before getting close to something like this (even to reach the outskirts of the city). And for this day out we left the house on foot!
posted by sasha @ 1:17 PM
2 Comments:
I clicked on the bottom pic for a closer view and could recognize Nettie spelling you off with Anna. Good shot of the mountaineer at your side. But, Leon peering over his carrier's shoulder takes the cake. If you're reading this and haven't seen that, zoom in for another look.
Coming from a red neck part of Alberta one of the joys of visiting London was the multiculturalism. To walk the street and hear the many different languages and see the diversity of people was one of the highlights of the visit. In fact, I became so use to hearing a different language that occasionally when I heard English, only in a very distinct accent, I didn't even recognize that!
However, in my own part of the world I do make an effort to shop at the "ethnic" shops. We had a farmers market that put me in another world - tastes of Italy, Pakistan, Ukraine - hearing different languages spoken. Even that has changed - much to my disappointment.
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