British Subjects

Photo from Twitter

Roddy Grant is a part-Scottish-part-African professional coach for Ulster Rugby, in Northern Ireland. In this episode we speak about his upbringing in Botswana / South Africa and how rugby helped solidify his Scottish identity. Also, as a professional coach, he shares some tips from the field in front of thousands that we can all apply to our lives.

Follow Roddy Grant on Twitter here.

British Subjects is produced by Anna Rose Kerr.

Photo from containerville food

In this episode I have the pleasure of catching up with Lamin who runs The Gamby Shack in Hackney, where he makes the best jerk chicken you’ll ever eat. With resturants on lockdown for the minute, we catch up about how he’s coping with indoor life, and he shares his favourite cook at home recipe – ‘smoked’ mackerel.

British Subjects is produced by Anna Rose Kerr.

Anjana Patel with her daughter Priti

Priti Patel’s parents Sushil & Anjana are an Indian couple who fled Uganda to the UK in the 1960s just before Idi Amin’s decision to deport all Asians.

In 1972 55,000 Asians were ordered to leave Uganda half of them had British passports and were re-housed in the UK by the Ugandan Resettlement Board.

In the UK, the Patels set up news agents in Hertforshire, London and East Anglia.

“My husband always says ‘you did not really live above the shop you lived under the till’ because I am obsessed with money and counting money. But seeing my mum and dad working the most incredible amount of hours … it was a great education. It is a hard life. I would always be filling the counters and helping at the cash and carry. Priti Patel – East Anglian Daily Times

Both the Patel parents have been involved in politics, with Anjana serving for the Consvertive Party and Sushil standing for UKIP. This epiosde looks at the Patel family, as well as the effects Home Office policy on immigrants whose visas are in jerpody as a result of Covid-19.

British Subjects is produced by Anna Rose Kerr.

Jannett’s story touches on the role of women of colour in the NHS. Her story is told in her book My Windward Side, and you can also read up on Our Migration Story. I first learned about her in Proffessor Kushner’s book The Battle of Britishness, you will hear his voice in this episode I and want to thank him again for speaking with me and everything I’ve learned from him.

While you’re here sign this petition to name the NEC in Birmingham after Mary Seacole.

You might also enjoy this previous episode on Matron Hulda Shipanga and this episode of Very Loose Women episode about UK immigration policy being more hostile for women.

British Subjects is produced by Anna Rose Kerr.

At the time of the last UK census there were fourteen Nauru-born people living in the UK, without being able to get hold of any of them this episode explores the reasons they may have moved here.

The two clips in the episode are from:

Activists read the Nauru files outside Australia House in London – video by Sami El-Enany &Hamish Macdonald’s interview with Sprent Dabwido

For more information read on Nauru try:

The Nauru Files released by The GuardianRNZ’s history of NauruNauruWire

British Subjects is produced by Anna Rose Kerr.

Stefan from the UK Chagos Support Association shares the story of a generation of children who are not welcome in the UK, but can’t return to their motherland either.

To learn more about their story and donate to some of their causes visit chagossupport.org.uk.

British Subjects is produced by Anna Rose Kerr.

110kg Taulupe (Toby) Faletau was born in Tonga in 1990, but as a child moved to Ebbw Vale with his rugby playing dad. Growing up with the sport it’s not hard to see how he’s become a hero of Welsh rugby.

Wales Online has two stories on the family’s move to Wales, and Toby’s subsequent career.

Taulupe talks to BBC Sport about getting the name on his jersey corrected here and it was also reported here. More on the couple who named their baby after him in this article.

Kuli Faletau talks to BBC Scrum V about how his family moved from Tonga.

British Subjects is produced by Anna Rose Kerr.

Photo from http://keeping550.rssing.com/chan-13572876/all_p4.html

Zambia-born Eddie Tembo is an international shinty player from Drumnadrochit, the village where the Loch Ness monster lurks. He is a proud-Scotsman exploring ways his young family can connect with their African heritage.

British Subjects is produced by Anna Rose Kerr.

Photo of Claudia Jones on holiday in Cornwall by Abhimanyu (Manu) Manchanda

Claudia Jones was born in Trinidad, grew up in the States and ended up in Britain when she was deported for being a communist. In this episode we visit five spots around London where you can learn more about her enormous contributions to the city – which include starting Notting Hill Carnival.

Thecityspeaks.org

The inscription on her grave reads: “Claudia Vera Jones, Born Trinidad 1915, Died London 25.12.1964, Valiant Fighter against racism and imperialism who dedicated her life to the progress of socialism and the liberation of her own black people”.

British Subjects is produced by Anna Rose Kerr.

Kelso Cochrane is unfortunately better known in death than he was in life, murdered by racists in Notting Hill 1959.

Footage of Cochrane’s funeral attended by more than 1,200 people

For more information on this story read Mark Olden’s ‘Murder in Notting Hill‘ and check out these links in:

The Socialist Work

The Telegraph

Our Migration Story

Kelso Benjamin Cochrane (1926-1959)

British Subjects is produced by Anna Rose Kerr.