My grandmother spends most of her time in the kitchen as she grew up having to learn her way around the kitchen along side her mother ..and so she has carried on her family's tradition

This what is traditionally eaten at a sunday dinner ..consisting of Beriarni(rice and lamb), popadom(type of seasoned cracker) and dol(a subtle type sauce of lentiles) ..this is the typical meal that was made in India which my grandmother learnt from her mother

This horse lamp is another object that has been in the family for years that was brought in England but is viewed as my grandparents way of settling in and adapting to their new home in the UK

This is part of the living room and dining area at my grandparents home in Cricklewood ..I remember dancing and playing with my cousins as a child in this area as you can see some of my family members eating their sunday dinner which my grandparents kept as a tradition to keep the family toghether ..which they really adopted from when they were living in Mumbai as they would constantly have family and friends condragting at their home for tradional foods and socializing. There is also a very large light pink and green vase in the picture, which was exported to them from friends in India as a wedding gift, this meant a lot to them as they were missing home at the time.

My grandfather had a love for elephants growing up in India as he used to help look after them at a few of his friends and family's villages in Mumbai ..and so he brought back this decorative object from India and placed it on his door way at home as a memorabilia to remind him of his roots.

This is my grandparents house on my mother's side, their first and only one that they had in England together, it is based in north west London,Cricklewood where my dad also grew up ..many memories have been shared within this house as I used to live here with my sister, mum, grandparents and aunty for 8 years ..my mum, her sister and brother were also all born here and we all now visit my grandmother and aunty here every sunday as my grandfather passed 2 years ago and my grandparents on my dad's side moved to Jamaica, otherwise we used to see them every other sunday before my grandparents moved.

This is my family portrait of both sides of my family showing our close and tight family unit, although it is not everyone ..I decided to take it in a low angle shot as it shows the dominant size of my family which can sometimes be overwhelming however it also shows the importance of being a close family network and also the great impact and importance they have in my life as they are dominant in it. "Family is everything, they will always be there when no-one else is"- a quote made by fathers mum that has also stuck in my memory.

Like my mum my dad also also grew up in North West London, Cricklewood which is also how they met. He drove me down this street two weeks ago and told me stories of how he used to play, made a business (selling self made go-carts) and basically grew up on this road practically all his life ..he told me that the close neighbourhood and many other children around him reminded him very much of living in Jamaica ultimately keeping him from feeling home sick however he said "the monster, life like trees" always had scared and puzzled him to why they were shaped in such a way.

This walking stick holder has been in my family through generations as it was made by my great grandfather ..it captures the culture that we still hold in the family as my great grandfather was a Raster but this was changed in the up bringing of my father as he grew up as a catholic however the roots stay with them ..this object also allowed many stories to be shared of my grandfathers growing up in Jamaica ,good, bad and funny but they were all inspirational leading him to repeat his famous moto after each story "laugh at life, don't let life laugh at you"

This is a type of barbecue unit that you will occasionally see on the streets of Jamaica with people selling, green banana, sweet potato and jerk chick ..my grandmother had one of these in her garden at the home below as it brought about great gatherings and reminded her of home.

This was their second and last home in England ..and the period of time in my life that I remember the most. My whole family and sometimes far relatives and ones on my mothers side would occasionally also be there, but most of the time it was my family on my dad's side consisting of uncles, aunty's, cousin's and second cousin's making a total number of about 25 to 30 of us every sunday. It was a wonderful and cherishing period of my life as i we all had a good bond with one another, sitting round the table for the traditional chicken, rice and peas sunday dinner, sharing jokes, stories and playing pranks on one another ..it very much made my childhood experience both enjoyable and forever memorable with moments that will replay in my head for a lifetime.

This was their first house when they moved here ..however I took this picture a week ago so it doesn't exactly look how it would of in the 1960s ..this house brings back many memories for me as i spent my youngest years here from baby to todler to child ..this is due to the fact that my grandmother, my mother and two of my aunty's used to run a nursery here so the house was full of all my cousins and friends making my family unit always and forever close ..and the way I view it my grandmother did her upmost to keep the family together and also succeeded in doing so.

This is my fathers parents who are from the Jamaican heritage ..in this picture they are at their home in Jamaica which I also took when I was there last summer ..we were celebrating my Grandfathers 71st birthday ..they also seem a lot happier there to when they were living here in England as they just moved back there 3 years ago and say it was the "best decision they ever made".."this is their true and only home".

The famous and traditional Jamaican cooking pot ..this plays a big part in my family life and has actually been in my family through generations ..food is the heart and soul of my entire family unit and brings us all together.

This is my cousin in Jamaica ..a picture that I snapped when I went there last year summer, showing the great love of food that both my family and their culture has. I took it at a high angle but almost eye level shot to capture the food and also the good and understanding relationship I have with my cousin, as he does feel like the brother I never had

An Insight To My Roots

I was born at Park Royal Hospital in north west London, England and my parents were too born in the UK. Which brings my racial descent back to my grandparents, with my fathers parents being born and raised in Jamaica, Kingston and my mothers parents being born and raised in India, Mumbai. However it gets a little more confusing as both my mothers parents are what you would call Anglo-Indian, meaning that one of their parents were of a English background and the other, an Indian background. Both of my grandparents' were brought up in a Catholic household, later changing to Christian-protestants which has carried on throughout my families generations.

My entire family has always been a close group, with both halves mixing with one another making my family unit overall a very large one. Food has always played a big part in my family life, as it was and still is a tradition to go to my grandparents house for breakfast, lunch and dinner with all members on a Sunday. However I used to spend the majority of these Sunday's at my fathers parents house as there are many more family memebers of cousins, aunts and uncles on that side compared to my mothers. However when my fathers parents moved back to Jamaica my Sunday's have been spent at my mothers parents house and on other days we will occasionally go to my cousins' houses.