Prologue When I returned from Jamaica late in November 2004, I was returning from arguably the worst period of time in my life but by the time I got back home in Luton, South East of England and sat down to reminisce, one small irony hit me. Although I did not see them in the same country let alone the same moment in time, 2004 was only the second time that I had physically seen both of my parents in the same year since I was seven years old back in September 1973. I had seen dad in April of that year in Nigeria it was kind of a home coming trip, then tragedy brought me to St. Elizabeth in Jamaica and to mum in November. The significance of seeing both my parents in the same year all be it seven months apart could be easily missed especially in the circumstances that led to it but when it dawned on me that my sister was yet to see our parents in the same year, not since 1973 it made me realise that this was something that may never happen again. My parents live at least 9,203KM apart on different continents, mum lives in Jamaica in the West Indies while dad lives in Nigeria West Africa, they haven’t seen nor spoken to each for well over 30 years. For me, 2004 was the year that I could finally say that I pretty much closed the door on 31 years of soul searching, pain, and a host of emotions, it was when I decided to stop searching for the answers to the questions that nobody wanted to answer. To be honest the answers probably wouldn’t make me feel any better now. I decided it was time to move on with my life, I had to give my daughter a better beginning than the one I got. It was time to let go of the lost years that I could never get back and appreciate the rollercoaster years that I experienced instead. I have been both lucky and unfortunate to experience life the way that I have, I fought a lot of battles with my emotions as well as with other people. I made a lot of friends along the way. As a result of my experiences, and what I have seen and done sompeople say it made me a better or a stronger person. I disagree, better or stronger than what? Who really knows how I would have turned out had the events of 1973 never happened? What I do know is that I am a strong person, most people will say that I smile through almost any circumstance and I truly appreciate what I have and the life that I have been given. If I had a choice, I wouldn’t have chosen to be where I ended up in September of 1973 nor would I have chosen to go to Jamaica in November 2004 but this is all part of my destiny. I have always been a firm believer that everything in life happens for a reason, we all end up in the right place at the right time, and sometimes we are just not lucky enough or psychic enough to know it. Destiny plays a role, as do our individual choices. No matter how bad life seems to be for example, you only have to listen to the news, look across the street and so on, and there is always someone, somewhere having a day or a year that makes yours look like a blessing. Still, we all have a story to tell, some of us have lived very sheltered lives others have bigger wilder experiences. Here’s my story . . . .