My Brighton Family

This is Denise, my landlady during my four weeks in Brighton doing the “CELTA” English language teaching course.  The three people gathered with me round the dinner table are my fellow students: Ali from Dubai; Enrico from Trento in Northern Italy and; Natalia from Mexico.

It seems strange to think that I knew none of these people four short weeks ago and now I feel like I’m leaving my surrogate family.  Denise is a devout Catholic with a mixed English/French background and political views somewhere to the right of Pope John Paul II.  She also has the proverbial “heart of gold”.  At seventy seven years of age and with a hip operation due in a few days, she looks after four students, including giving us all a hearty breakfast and a solid supper and doing our washing.  On top of this she has that wonderful knack of creating a chaotic, welcoming and homely atmosphere where people feel free to do as they wish.  And all for £115 per week.

 

She insisted on my fixing myself and her a large scotch each before dinner every evening.  Personally I see Tony Blair as a flawed person probably doing his best, rather than as the Anti-Christ.  But this is small thing easy to forgive in one with so generous a spirit.

Good luck Denise, Ali, Enrico and the graceful Natalia, I shall miss you guys!