My name is Daisy. I am 85 years of age. I was born in Jamaica, in the parish of St. Thomas. My first job was from the labour exchange, they found me the job about three weeks while I was here. And it was in this factory. The factory is where they process the skins for sausages and make the strings for tennis rackets. And this, the smell wasn’t nice. And you have to work in water and you wear wellington boots, because there’s water all the time.

When I first walked into the factory, I didn’t know what to expect. Most of the people that was there was people from other Caribbean islands, not from Jamaica, that I didn’t know. Something still stands out in my memory. After that day, when I started my first job, I left my home after seven, walked to the bus stop to catch the bus to go to work. Number 14 bus. And when I reached, arrived at the bus stop, there was one lady. One lady was standing at the bus stop and we start talking. She was from Jamaica as well, although she was from a different parish. She was from Clarendon. And then, when I told her that it was my first day going to my job, that’s exactly the same place she was going, that’s where she was working already! So that was very exciting. So we become friends. Right away we become friends.

We were friends for over 60 years. Over 60 years she was so close to me as a family, adopted family, because of the friendship we had together. We really spend happy, happy times together. From 1962 we’ve been friends, until she passed away, 2015. I was one of her bridesmaids when she got married.

I met James, my husband, at my first job. Well, my first impression was, he was a hardworking man. Hardworking. Dealing with the work, leading with the jobs. And he was strong, you know, from watching him, he was strong. And, you know, really dedicated to the work he was doing, you know. They would call him a lot to, you know, move this, move that, you know, shift the work. And, you know, he was really willing and so. That was ‘62 but we didn’t really, actually, really close friendship until ’68. See, I don’t know what took him so long. Laughs. You know, but there’s a right time for everything, you know.

So eventually we were married in ’69. 1969 we were married. I remember that day so well, so well. My friend that I made the day where I was going to work, she was my maid of honour, because she have to be, she would have to be. Close, close friend, you know. So. The morning I went to take flowers to the church. I took flowers to the church in the morning before the wedding. Came back home. And then I went to my, my auntie’s home where I got dressed. And then my auntie and other members of the family was setting up the hall. The hall was the co-operative hall in Seven Sisters Road. Co-operative hall where they had, and even that day there were two weddings. My wedding was upstairs and there was another wedding downstairs, an African wedding. Because it’s a big hall. So. So I remember, you stood outside to take photograph and this other couple – laughs – they were out there as well, you know, taking pictures.

And James’ dream was to go back to the Caribbean, to Montserrat. Always, always, he always said that. Because most people, most Caribbean people if you speak to them, they say that they were only going to spend five years. Most of them, that’s what they say. We all said it, ‘Only five years, only five years.’ So then we would intend to work for five years and hope that we would save up enough – laughs – to take us back home. Pay back our fare to go home and have something. It wasn’t easy to save up because, even though we work and we get our wages, but we live here. And the bills – you have to pay out and support yourself. So it was still hard to save up enough to go back. Very few, very few people managed to go back. But James, James you know, really wanted to go back. He always said that.

And we did manage to go back. We did went back. We went back in 1992. But our time home wasn’t that long because he became ill. At least, he was ill before he left here. Well, not seriously ill, because he developed diabetes. But we did manage to go after that time, you know, we went home. It was nice. It was happy. And back, when I went back there, we get back in farming again. We grew everything that we need. I planted my own coconut tree, breadfruit tree, banana, everything. Because that’s, we grew up in that, yeah, James as well. So that was our first beginning in life, farming, where we knew how to do things, what to do. So it wasn’t strange. We went back, and although we were in England all these years, we go back, you know, it wasn’t hard for us to adapt, go back into what we used to, what we are accustomed to. You know?

So we plant things, just put the pot on inside and you go outside and you coming in with so much more than you can manage at the time. That was all I – so we were happy, very happy. I didn’t really miss Jamaica – laughs – living in Montserrat. But I miss the children back here in London, that was another thing. But I was happy because I make new friends, you know with James there.

When we came back because of Jame’s ill health, we didn’t expect that we’ll be here for long. Maybe just to seek medical and then return back. But it wasn’t to be. You know, diabetes developed more, more severe, more severe. Until he lost his leg because of the diabetes, circulation, bad circulation. He lost one leg then he lost both legs. So this was a big change in our life. Big change in our life. Because all the things that he used to be able to do, he wasn’t able to do it anymore.

Then I had to care around him, and the children, you know, we all have to help. He tell everybody, Daisy is like a mother to him. Laughs. Not a burden, however, a mother to him because I care for him, you know. Care for him, care for him. Look after him until he, yeah, until he passed away.

We spent a good time with James. Good time, you know, he was a good man. Good man, kind man. Really loving, you know. A really loving man. 55 years is a long time. I really miss him but life have to go on. Sometimes I still think and wonder, ‘Is it really happened, did it really happen?’ Yes, it happened, it happened, it happened. Life changed and my life changed as well, my life changed as well because I’m on my own now. For years I wasn’t on my own, there was someone around me. But I have to go on, yeah I have to carry on, I can’t stop here now. Life goes on.