I just saw a beautiful photo of my granddaughter Elizabeth on her first day at school. She looks so beautiful and lovely. This photo triggered many memories of my first day at Longwood Infant School on the remote island of St. Helena.
As much as I am happy for Elizabeth it has also made me quite sad. What a contrast Elizabeth’s first day at her new school will be compared to my first day. I was just barely five years old and my grandmother was still asleep when I left for school. I remember bending down to kiss her tear stained face. She had been awake most of the night trying to cope the best she could with poppa’s violence. I know that deep down she probably would have taken me to school. I think if circumstances had been different she would have. I know that she was a victim of domestic violence and was trying to hide the bruises on her face.
I woke up early and got myself dressed. As I walked along the corridor in the house I walked through the broken furniture that poppa had broken the night before. I dont remember having any breakfast but did get a free lunch at school.
Unlike myself, Elizabeth will have her devoted mum and dad taking her to school. I was alone and I can clearly rember walking to school with some of the older children. I wasn’t frightened infact I was quite use to doing most things on my own at a very young age. I remember thinking to myself that if my mother was living with me then she would take me to school, but my mother lived thousands of miles away from me.
I didn’t even know my mother. I was such a small toddler when she left me with my grandparents. I was only eighteen months old. My grandmother had looked after me very well but she never once went to my school. She was always trying to hide her bruised face and poppa had knocked her front teeth out.
I can’t even imagine having your parents go to your school. I always went to my children’s school and I also make sure that I show an interest at my grandchildren’s school. I didn’t have any parents to support me at school so I made sure I did the exact opposite. My head teachers got away with beating me as much as they did because the cowards knew full well that they could get away with it. It wasn’t just the physical abuse that I would suffer, I also suffered very nasty verble abuse . One of my teachers would take great delight in telling my friends not to play with me because they would say I was a bad child, I really wasn’t. Those nasty comments would crush my spirit and still affect me to this day.
I expect that on her first day Elizabeth will be asked her name. I was ask my name on the first day and I replied that my name was Dorothy Bastard. I replied with that because that is what poppa would call me. The teacher looked horrified and told me never to use that word again. I assured her that poppa called me that name every day.
I wish my granddaughter Elizabeth every success in her new school. I wish her to have a happy life and I hope that she can soar and all her dreams come true.