Childhood and family transcripts

Alex:

00:00-00:17

And I was born premature so I was meant to be born in September. It was September the 21^st I think. I was born erm early and er I was born with cataracts so I had my eyes there and there.

Donna:

00:18-00:20

So so so so like this and

Alex:

00:20-00:27

Yeah my eyes. Yeah, yeah I had they found out I had no um air ducts, you know, these air ducts.

Donna:

00:27-00:28

Oh, no.

Alex:

00:28-00:30

Because I was premature. They weren’t fully developed.

Donna:

00:30-00:31

Oh, no.

Alex:

00:32-00:42

So after, I think after probably like a couple of days, they had to do quick surgery so I could get air ducts. It was quite clever, really.

Donna:

00:42-00:45

Oh, no. Did your parent.

Alex:

00:45-00:52

I had to. I had to have cataracts operations as a baby, even before. Like weeks old.

Donna:

00:53-00:54

Do you have to wear glasses? Did you have to wear glasses like this?

Alex:

00:54-00:56

No, no, no, no. I’ve got 20:20 vision.

Donna:

00:56-00:58

Oh so turns out you can see everything.

Alex:

00:58-01:00

Yeah, yeah. I do have a wandering eye.

Donna:

01:00-01:01

Oh ok

Alex:

01:01-01:03

Just wanders to go fish.

Donna:

01:03-01:05

Like this side, okay.

Alex:

01:05-01:05

Yeah.

Donna:

01:06-01:21

Okay. When, when were you… so describe your first happy memory. What is your first happy memory? Or any, don’t have to be in your child.

Alex:

01:21-01:54

Yeah, yeah. Er first happy memory. Always, as a kid, always was going up to Liverpool, so it was like my second home. And where we used to travel up, I used to have my, my er Wellington bear blanket that I still have today. And er used to cover myself with that. And my mom used to make toast and butter. We used to have that on the way down and just fall asleep. That’s, I think that’s a good one.

Donna:

01:54-01:55

So. So.

Alex:

01:55-01:56

And my sister.

Donna:

01:56-01:57

And your sister, too?

Alex:

01:57-01:58

Yeah, I have a sister.

Donna:

01:58-02:07

Sister, too. So. So. So that mem-. That. That teddy bear, that. That Wellington bear gives a lot of memories, and, and, and

Alex:

02:07-02:07

Yeah.

Donna:

02:07-02:08

it’s sentimental. Sentimental to you.

Alex:

02:08-02:11

Yeah, it was my. It was my blanket basically.

Donna:

02:11-02:14

Your comfort blanket?

Alex:

02:14-02:18

Yeah, like some people would have teddies, I’d have a blanket instead.

Dan:

00:00-00:05

Can you tell me some stories about your childhood?

Charlotte:

00:08-00:23

Um I was um adopted, um aged seven months old, um um because my mum couldn’t look after me. Um But I’ve got through adoption and now I’ve got my mum Lynn.

Dan:

00:27-00:29

When were you born?

Charlotte:

00:29-00:32

I was born on 17th of the 3rd 1992.

Dan:

00:36-00:37

Where were you born?

Charlotte:

00:38-00:42

I was born in St Luke’s Hospital in Bradford BD5.

Dan:

00:48-00:52

Er, tell me about your family.

Charlotte:

00:52-01:20

Um, well, I went, well, I was adopted from the baby, but I can’t really remember it. And then I went to foster carers and then I went back and then mum got me through adoption. I have two brothers, um a niece and nephew, who I absolutely love to pieces. Um I’ve got loads of friends and I’ve got a job and I’ve got a brother who’s got additional needs as well.

Dan:

01:28-01:32

Can you describe your happiest memory?

Charlotte:

01:33-01:42

Um well yeah I can. Um I’m just happy that um my mum brought me through adoption and, and that she chose me.

Dan:

01:43-01:50

Tell me about someone who has had an important impact in your life.

Charlotte:

01:51-01:59

Um well, my mum really, because she’s been a mother and dad for me for, since I was born really.

Dan:

00:00-00:08

I was born in York and I was born at York Hospital.

Will:

00:09-00:11

And what year were you born?

Dan:

00:11-00:13

2004.

Will:

00:14-00:18

Okay. What about your family? What can you tell me about them?

Dan:

00:21-00:28

I have a really good family actually that have supported me a lot.

Will:

00:29-00:30

Do you spend a lot of time with them?

Dan:

00:31-00:33

I do, yeah.

Will:

00:33-00:36

Going on lots of family holidays and stuff when you were younger, or?

Dan:

00:37-00:41

I went on some, some abroad.

Will:

00:42-00:42

Anywhere nice?

Dan:

00:43-00:54

I, I remember. I remember one of my first holidays I went to, we went to Spain and I don’t know where in Spain.

Will:

00:54-00:55

Somewhere.

Dan:

00:55-01:18

I can’t remember but I remember um we went into this bar or restaurant or something and we, I think it was a, we ordered this Knickerbocker Glory but I didn’t know what to call it and I called it a banana gaga. I couldn’t.

Will:

01:16-01:20

Banana Gaga, that’s great. You still call them that to this day?

Dan:

01:20-01:22

I do yes.

Will:

01:22-01:23

Things like that stick don’t they?

Dan:

01:23-01:29

They do, yes. I think I was only about four. That’s up.

Will:

01:30-01:33

What about school? What primary school did you go to?

Dan:

01:33-01:38

I went to Carr Junior School in York.

Will:

01:38-01:43

I believe if you’ve got something related to that to show us as well.

Dan:

01:43-02:02

I do. I have here a, I have a like an autography sort of book from that era where teachers and students that went there have signed.

Will:

02:02-02:04

It’s printed on that page there, would you mind reading that?

Dan:

02:06-02:12

The following pages contain autographs and messages from teachers and school friends.

Will:

02:12-02:19

Are there any that stand out to you in that are your favourites? Ones you’d like to talk about? It’s okay if not.

Dan:

02:22-02:39

My friend Jacob grew, drew a very funny, very funny picture of someone in glasses with a very, very cheesy, teethy grin.

Will:

02:39-02:48

It’s great. Wow yeah a lot of doodles isn’t there?

Dan:

02:49-02:53

There is a, there is, there is, there is a lot of doodles yeah.

Will:

02:53-02:56

Smiley face there that’s two and three

Dan:

02:56-03:02

And we have some very interesting looking drawings there’s

Will:

03:02-03:05

Four, five, six smiley faces yeah there’s loads.

Dan:

03:05-03:06

Yeah.

Will:

03:07-03:14

What about, so you mentioned a bit your friend there drew the little thing, what was your friendship group like at school?

Dan:

03:14-03:30

I had about six, I had about five, six core friends, which all went with me after we left infant school. We were friends in infant school.

Will:

03:30-03:31

Onto secondary school?

Dan:

03:31-03:42

And we. Well, infant school and went, we went from infant school to junior school together and we stayed friends throughout junior school.

Will:

03:42-03:43

Oh, that’s nice.

Dan:

03:43-04:01

But unfortunately when we, it got to secondary school we all went, pretty much we all went to the same secondary school. Because of how big the- my secondary school was, we kind of split and we haven’t really seen each other since.

Will:

04:01-04:01

No.

Mark:

00:00-00:08

Okay, do you want to tell me a little bit about your family. So your mum and dad, their names?

James:

00:09-00:38

Pat, that’s my mam. I’ve got a dad and he, he. His name is Jim and I’ve got a sister um who’s, who’s, who’s, who’s, who’s older than me with three kids.

Mark:

00:40-00:41

What’s your sister’s name?

James:

00:41-00:53

Laura. And I’ve got very lovely three nieces and three nieces.

Mark:

00:53-00:53

All girls, yes?

James:

00:54-00:55

Yeah, they’re all girls.

Mark:

00:56-00:57

And how old are they?

James:

00:58-01:23

They are ones older, like about 17 and the other ones 10, I think. And the other ones, the, the young ones, I think, about eight.

Mark:

01:23-01:26

Okay, and what, what are their names?

James:

01:26-01:29

Molly, Jessica, and Izzy.

Mark:

01:30-01:34

Wonderful. Okay, thank you. Do you see them on a regular basis?

James:

01:34-01:35

Yeah, I do, yeah.

Mark:

01:37-01:39

Do they live locally, do they?

James:

01:39-01:41

Yeah. They live in the posh end.

Mark:

01:42-01:43

Oh Jesmond.

James:

01:43-01:43

Yes.

Mark:

01:44-01:45

Yeah, yeah, right. Ok yeah.

James:

01:45-01:46

Very posh end.

Mark:

01:47-01:54

So what’s your earliest childhood memory?

James:

02:01-02:19

My childhood memory has to be. We got a little, like a little mini snooker table.

Mark:

02:20-02:20

Ooh.

James:

02:21-02:23

like a little mini one.

Mark:

02:23-02:23

Yeah.

James:

02:23-02:26

It was like a cutie, tiny, tiny little one.

Mark:

02:28-02:29

Oh right.

James:

02:29-02:31

With me waistcoat and me

Mark:

02:31-02:34

Ooh, very posh

James:

02:34-02:39

I was. I had my bow tie. I was like a proper snooker player.

Mark:

02:39-02:41

Oh wow. How old were you then?

James:

02:41-02:46

I think I was about six.

Mark:

02:46-02:50

Oh, it conjures up pictures of extraordinary cute.

James:

02:51-02:54

I was very cute when I was little.

Alex:

00:00-00:02

Describe your parents and what were they like?

Jessica:

00:03-00:41

Me mam, she was, shall we say er, incapable of being a parent but she tried her best, you know what I mean, with us all. Um my sister um was the favourite and I was a little monkey just, just yeah. My parents, my dad’s got a learning disability, so. And, and my mum, she had mental health, so. But she was all right.

Alex:

00:42-00:44

So did you ever get jealous of your sister then?

Jessica:

00:44-00:48

Yeah, all the time. All the time we used to fight like cat and dog.

Alex:

00:50-00:57

So, right. So what did your. What did your parents do for work?

Jessica:

00:57-01:08

My mum was stay at home er parent, my dad just did all sorts he were market trader, he worked for the council, you know, he worked down the Rotunda when the Rotunda was here.

Alex:

01:09-01:11

That’s that bowling alley right?

Jessica:

01:12-01:14

Um it used to be an indoor bowling alley as well yeah.

Alex:

01:16-01:20

So what. So what was your home like when you were growing up in?

Jessica:

01:20-01:37

Oh it’s terrible, I was er. I was abused as a youngster by many men in my life, and, yeah, I just become rebellious and, yeah, it wasn’t a.

Alex:

01:38-01:43

So you didn’t have um, like, nobody with a wise head or to look up to.

Jessica:

01:42-01:46

No. No boundaries. I did what I liked and I like what I did.

Alex:

01:47-01:59

All right um. What. What was it you liked living. Living like, living in care, is it? Living in care.

Jessica:

01:59-02:08

Oh um, I was very disruptive. Um I went through 36 foster homes and 4 children’s homes in four years.

Alex:

02:09-02:09

Wow.

Jessica:

02:09-02:29

Because I wouldn’t stay. Sometimes I’d stay as long as the police officers. And then I’d walk in me bedroom, I’d think, well I ain’t staying here. And then I’d be. I’d walk back in the front room. Police officers just driven down the road. I’ll be like, thanks for your hospitality, I’ll be off now. And I’d just walk off.

Dan:

00:00-00:03

So you’re talking about your grandparents and pets.

Leon:

00:03-00:03

Yeah.

Dan:

00:04-00:14

What? Yeah. Did you do anything with them? Like go on holidays or anything with them or?

Leon:

00:16-01:31

My grandad er, we’ve started doing a thing with my grandad where for his birthday we go away. Before it was we would go to Blackpool but then about two years ago we finally got both our passports renewed which meant the world was our oyster. So we finally started going abroad like proper holiday because we figured the amount of money we were wasting in Blackpool, we might as well just go all-inclusive abroad of something. But we don’t really go all-inclusive we self-cater when it comes to going out for tea. But we went to Tenerife that year and it was really nice. Then we went to Gran Canaria last year for his 60^th, which was two weeks and was a, well very special birthday for him because it’s not every day you turn 60. My granny, we used to go, we used to go. We used to go to London quite a bit when I was a kid. We even went to Disney World for one of my birthdays. I forget exactly which one it was, but it was a place I definitely went to.

00:00-00:01

Tell me about your family.

Lewis:

00:02-00:16

My family, so I’ve got my mum, called Claire and I got my main sister, Lily and I’ve got Michael in my life.

00:17-00:19

Who did you live with as a child?

Lewis:

00:21-00:24

My mum and my sister.

00:25-00:27

What is the best thing about your mum?

Lewis:

00:28-00:32

She’s lovely, caring and gives me hugs.

00:34-00:36

What is the best thing about your sister?

Lewis:

00:37-00:44

My sister, I’m proud of her, she’s going, she’s going back to university I’m so proud of.

00:44-00:47

What is the best thing about your stepdad, Michael?

Lewis:

00:49-00:57

Michael, wow, he’s a funny character to be around. He gives me hugs and he gives me the best presents I’ve ever had.

Scott:

00:00:03

How old was you when you went into the care system?

Louise:

00:03-00:09

I can’t remember how old I was when I went to Lovedere, but when I went to Rosie and Barry’s I just turned 18.

Scott:

00:10-00:12

How old, you don’t remember the age when you went to there?

Louise:

00:11-00:12

No. No.

Scott:

00:12-00:14

Was it just you that went to care?

Louise:

00:14-00:16

No my sister came with me.

Scott:

00:16-00:17

It was you and your sister?

Louise:

00:17-00:18

Yeah. Yeah

Scott:

00:18-00:21

Do you mind speaking about that? Why you got put into care or?

Louise:

00:21-00:21

Neglect.

Scott:

00:22-00:24

It was. How did that make you feel, Louise?

Louise:

00:25-00:29

A bit sad and a bit stressed. Because when you don’t know where you’re going to.

Scott:

00:29-00:29

Yeah.

Louise:

00:29-00:30

It feels a bit oh

Scott:

00:30-00:34

new places, people you don’t know.

Louise:

00:34-00:36

I was a bit shy and all that.

Scott:

00:36-00:38

Was you upset and angry about?

Louise:

00:38-00:42

Yeah. Just a bit upset. Not, I wouldn’t say I was angry, I was just upset.

Scott:

00:42-00:45

And that was because your mum couldn’t cope, or?

Louise:

00:45-00:48

Yeah, because my mum couldn’t cope with all three of us.

Scott:

00:48-00:49

Three of us. And your brother stayed?

Louise:

00:49-00:50

Yeah.

Scott:

00:50-00:53

Okay, so did you go in the same home with your sister?

Louise:

00:53-00:56

Yes, we stayed together throughout the moves.

Scott:

00:56-00:58

Oh, that’s fantastic. That’s nice, isn’t it?

Louise:

00:58-00:58

Because some people you get

Scott:

00:58-01:00

They go different ways.

Louise:

01:00-01:01

Separately, yes.

Scott:

01:01-01:03

Yes. So you were lucky enough to be with your sister.

Louise:

01:03-01:03

Yeah. Yeah.

Scott:

01:04-01:06

And you got a very close bond with your sister.

Louise:

01:06-01:08

Yes, I got a very close bond with my sister.

Scott:

01:08-01:13

So you said before you went to Barry’s, she went to somewhere else, was that right?

Louise:

01:13-01:16

No, I went to Barry’s after that. Barry and Rosie.

Scott:

01:16-01:16

Yeah.

Louise:

01:16-01:18

They’re my foster parents.

Scott:

01:18-01:20

They’re your foster. So you left your mum and went to the foster parents.

Louise:

01:21-01:23

No I went, we left my mum’s to Lovedere.

Scott:

01:23-01:26

Yeah, what was that about, Lovedere?

Louise:

01:26-01:29

It was like a care setting.

Scott:

01:29-01:29

Care home.

Louise:

01:29-01:30

Yeah. Care setting.

Scott:

01:30-01:34

How did you get on in that environment?

Louise:

01:34-01:35

It was good.

Scott:

01:35-01:35

Made friends in there?

Louise:

01:35-01:36

Yeah, I made friends.

Scott:

01:36-01:01:38

So there was different people as well as you.

Louise:

01:38-01:39

Yeah, we made. Because I.

Scott:

01:40-01:43

Was it all just girls or was it mixed with boys and stuff?

Louise:

01:43-01:45

No, it was just girls. It was just a girls house, yeah.

Scott:

01:47-01:51

Then you got up for adoption to Barry and his wife.

Louise:

01:50-01:52

Yeah. Rosie. Rosie

Scott:

01:52-01:53

Rosie.

Louise:

01:53-01:54

They were lovely parents.

Scott:

01:54-01:57

You had some many good times with them, yeah?

Louise:

01:57-01:57

Yeah. Yeah

Scott:

01:58-02:02

What is the earliest memory you have with them? Was it meeting them? How did that go?

Louise:

02:02-02:03

Oh, I’ve got another funny story.

Scott:

02:03-02:03

Okay.

Louise:

02:03-02:12

Me and Barry went to take me to Ilminster to get the bus to college. Oh, it’s so funny. I was at the bus stop. Do you know when you have to put your hand out

Scott:

02:13-02:13

Yeah

Louise:

02:13-02:15

To stop the bus? He drove straight past me.

Scott:

02:16-02:17

Because you didn’t put your hand out.

Louise:

02:17-02:23

Yeah, I thought, what? Because you thought if you. If you put. If you put your hand out, the bus would stop.

Scott:

02:23-02:23

Stop.

Louise:

02:24-02:25

No, it drove straight past.

Scott:

02:25-02:25

It didn’t stop?

Louise:

02:25-02:32

No. So me and Barry. Barry decided to get in the car and follow the bus.

Scott:

02:32-02:33

The bus driver?

Louise:

02:34-02:37

And we got on. He stopped at Hash Hill.

Scott:

02:38-02:38

Yeah

Louise:

02:38-02:44

That was halfway. And the bus driver claimed he didn’t see me at the bus stop.

Scott:

02:45-02:46

But you got on it there and then?

Louise:

02:46-02:51

I got on it there and then and he picked me up from college in the afternoon.

Dan:

00:00-00:03

Can you please talk about where you grew up?

Peter:

00:03-00:15

Well I grew up in Selby. So I grew up all around in Selby itself so I was just all everywhere in Selby. I lived in, grew up in Selby.

Dan:

00:19-00:27

So. So what did you do as a child then?

Peter:

00:27-01:22

Um. As a child I did did all sorts. Got up to mischief. A lot. I remember once I think it was five or six my dad was going, my dad was going to pull the ladder and my mum said to me whatever you do don’t follow my dad up the ladder so what did I do? Follow my dad up the ladder. It was so. And my mum wasn’t very pleased with me at all that I did that I followed my dad up the ladder and I did all some and then also the little berries up that bird’s ate I actually actually as a bit as a kid I actually, I actually, I think they made me go to hospital to get me stomach pumped, which is very, very strange. I know, but it’s what I did as a as a child.

Dan:

01:23-01:26

Did you have any siblings, brother or sister?

Peter:

01:26-01:44

I’ve got a sister. I’ve got a sister. She’s. I’m the oldest because I was born first and then she was born. There not much age  difference between me and my sister. Because I was born she was born the year after me.

Dan:

01:48-01:59

Um so, er, what does your sister do now then?

Peter:

02:01-02:12

She’s. She obviously lives in Australia and she works. She’s children’s nurse. A practitioner. Partitioning nurse.

Dan:

02:19-02:26

So tell me more about Australia then. Do you. Do you go to see your sister often?

Peter:

02:26-02:58

I got to see my sister. Apart from when it was Covid. Apart from that, I. I go every year. To see my sister go every year and so I staying with her. It’s absolutely fantastic. Nice way. Because she lived in. She lives in Queensland, but she lived in Townsville. But now she lives just near the Gold Coast now, which is. Which is. I do miss Townsville. But where she is now is a lot better because it’s really nice. It’s a lot nicer. Really nice, really nice area and everything.

Sapphire:

00:00-00:28

I lived in, well, two places actually. One was my foster carers who were Andy and Sue. I can’t remember where they lived. And then I lived in St Austell with my mum and dad. My adopted mum and dad.

Claire:

00:38-00:40

What was the house like?

Sapphire:

00:42-01:04

Um well, it was nice. We had our own, well we had bedroom, each I had bunk beds. Um. Bit crowded but then we had the extension, I think 15 years ago now.

Claire:

01:09-01:11

Who did you live with?

Sapphire:

01:11-01:22

So I lived with my mum called Sue, my dad called Martin. My brother called Tim and my sister called Keira.

Claire:

01:25-01:27

When were you adopted?

Sapphire:

01:28-01:49

I was adopted at the age of two and a half. Um but before that I did live with foster carers. For I think six months.

Claire:

01:53-01:56

Why were you adopted?

Sapphire:

01:57-02:52

So I was adopted because um my birth mother er couldn’t look after me. She had her own learning difficulties. Um and it was kind, well, from what I heard, it was like an abusive relationship. And the partner she was with just couldn’t, well, discipline me, my sister, and, well, the kids. So before I was adopted, I did have er a brother and sister called Robert and Lucy and those two were adopted together and then I was adopted by my mum that I’ve got now.

Claire:

02:54-02:57

How do you feel about that?

Sapphire:

02:58-03:12

Um I feel blessed on it because that means that someone actually wanted me. Like they wanted another child.