"It was a cold winter and my dad had been gripped by the idea of roasting chestnuts. He had grown up in the southern hemisphere, in a former British colony, so despite the fact that his Christmases were hot spent in shorts and flip-flops he had been surrounded by images of snowy churches, robin redbreasts, holly, ivy and, yes, chestnuts roasting on an open fire."
"Hopefully you all know already that unlike sweet chestnuts, horse chestnuts are, in fact, incredibly poisonous. Conkers are great for hitting against each other on bits of string. But roast them and eat them, and you could be looking at least a couple of nights in hospital. This story reminds me of two things. First, to never trust anything my father produces for dinner, and second, that everyone arriving in a new country needs friends."
A father, newly arrived in the UK forty-three years ago, collected conkers on Clapham Common and attempted to roast them believing they were edible chestnuts. The conkers produced an acrid smell as about thirty were baked in a gas oven, and had they been eaten they could have caused serious poisoning and hospitalisation. Horse chestnuts are inedible and used for children's conker games. Newcomers require friends, housing, and community for companionship, shelter, and belonging and to avoid dangerous mistakes. A harsh government stance toward migrants pursuing education, work, or refuge undermines community-building and endangers vulnerable refugees.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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