Post by Sue L.

'it all started with the missionaries [who always gave the West Indians things] ... when you're poor, you just think about getting ... that's how some people think ... you have to love them with their imperfections ... love the imperfect perfectly ... not everybody reflects ... growing can be painful but it is good' - Raymond Parkes, today --- Raymond is a Jamaican who grew up in Trinidad and was adopted into a Christian pastor's household --- he grew up around performative Christian virtue (and saw genuine Christian love/compassion) --- he was encouraged to go to college by his twin sister he became a teacher and a teacher to the deaf in Trinidad --- when he came to England decades ago, the restrictive practices of being a state-school teacher in England meant that he opted to be a teaching assistant, rather than a teacher --- Ray is wise and I have never spoken to him without being shown insights or hearing poetry --- Ray is a deeply valued friend and ex-colleague from Ashcroft (now called Queen Elizabeth School)