Bright sparks

We've had visitors from outside the UK renting our self-catering cottage but they have all been 'white' so it's been a pleasure to have an Indian family in there. It hasn't been easy for them: they're on a tight budget and entirely unfamiliar with the conventions of a holiday let and dreadfully concerned less they got things wrong, despite my reassurances.  

They arrived after dark and couldn't find the place and the first two days it poured with rain. (No, they didn't possess wellies.) They drove all the way to Swansea to seek out a Hindu temple and restaurant but couldn't park close enough for long enough. They were disappointed we had no farm animals. They felt the cold and their expressions looked strained. 

But the last two days have been hot and sunny and everyone relaxed. Father showed us the pictures he took at the Blue Lagoon down the coast and touched his heart in wonderment - he couldn't get over the beauty of the scenery; Mother we didn't see much of but we got a sample of her cooking brought over; Grandmother (visiting from Bangalore) couldn't speak any English but was keenly interested in absolutely everything and determined to find out; and the two bespectacled little boys, just 5 and almost 10,  were enraptured by the outdoor fireplace and spent the evening feeding and poking and blowing the flames until darkness fell. Even then they came knocking at the door, sharp as nails,  asking for dock leaves to soothe their nettle stings. It's good to know that at least a small fragment of British countryside tradition has been acquired during their sojourn in the UK.

The relative infrequency of ethnic minority people in rural spaces is discussed in this (and other articles) in which several  individuals of  non-European descent talk about their own experiences of visiting , or living in, the countryside. 


(Since writing the above I have discovered that the five  young men who tragically lost their lives after entering the sea at Camber Sands in Sussex yesterday were of Asian descent, although from London. Without making any assumptions, it may be that familiarising people from ethnic communities with both the pleasures and the dangers of outdoor activity could save lives.)