‘WHAT A DAY IN RYE LANE’
An illustrative book by Edona Selmani
Chioma Adeyemi from Nigeria, known as Trisha here in London, as a former immigrant, now a British citizen, I am trying to make a living in Peckham to support my son and I.
With a thousand and one things on my mind, the first thing on the agenda is to wash the exhaustion off my face and get ready for the hectic day ahead.
Tobi, my son, is a very deep sleeper and I always struggle to wake him up to get ready for school. There is no rooster outside to wake him up as it does back in our village in Nigeria. When he wakes up, he is very well-organized for the day ahead; something he has maintained despite moving countries.
I drop him at the school's gates and kiss him goodbye.
I meet my friend, Mamba, for our daily dose of caffeine before work, at Ozzie's coffee shop. The place was recently refurbished as the previous cafe was demolished by the council.
We take the crowded 197 bus to go to work, as we open the salon at Oh, I do hope we have a busy schedule as the business has been very recently.
We started off strong with some braiding and bridal makeup. It's days like this that make me keep going and work hard to keep this shop, but it's an uphill battle against the cost of business expenses.
From the bustling day, I ran late to pick up Tobi from school but will make it up to him by taking him around Rye Lane to get groceries for his favourite food.
Walking through Rye lane with my baby boy, I reminisce and talk him through the old shops that used to be there before they were taken over by multicultural business owners.
Khan: This is coriander, a very famous spice we use in almost every Afghan dish.
Tobi: What spice is this?
Kahn was one of the first people I met when I first came to Peckham. Back then his business wasn't as well known as it is nowadays.
When we arrived home I kept the promise and made Tobi's favourite meal and offered to help me to set the table.
When we finished dinner, I called Miss. Lola to come over and watch Tobi as I get ready for my second shift of the day.
Recently our community has been offered the opportunity to use the space at Chourment car park as an expanded set-up for business. The day has been hectic enough already, but I'm always ready to do what I love the most, which is braiding.
The customers I worked with the most tonight, we're going clubbing after. That brings me a lot of joy, as I love trying new hairstyles on them and they never turn it down. While most of us use card payment, I only accept cash.
My friend who has been here for most of the day works in the hub next to me, selling African clothing. She offers handmade clothing as well, which brings her loads of customers.
After we both finish up for the night, we gather with others that have been hanging around and join them for some drinks and kebab. It is such a great atmosphere and allows me not only to have an impact on the economy but also to get to know new people and learn more about them. Even though this space is up for only 3 days a week I have been seeing a big change in the community's multicultural growth.
A great addition to this space has been the daytime economy, which thrives with different business obligations. Not only that, but also a better community coming together and joining different activities and making them feel welcome without any judgement.
I came home at 2 am, after having the busiest day, but at least I finished the night having a glass of wine and enjoying the company of the others.
All I want to do now is get into my pajamas and sleep until I wake up naturally…
