30 April 3, 2022The Sunday TimesTravel
Travel and flying is in my
DNA: my father was an
Ethiopian Airlines pilot,
and I was actually
conceived on a stopover in Athens when
my Ethiopian mother was en route to
England. The same airline would later
reunite me with her and my family after
I left the care system.
There were no holidays when I was
in care, so for years I held on to my first
holiday with my Wigan foster family to
Lochinver, a little fishing village in the
western Highlands. We stayed in a
cottage on the hills above its scallop
bay and I recall looking down at the
twinkling lights at night. I felt like I
was in a Famous Five mystery and
spent all day exploring with my
step-siblings.
I’ve returned to Lochinver a few
times since. I have an uncle and aunt
from my foster family days who have
a B&B there. I took some musician
friends up a few years back and we
had a wonderful evening that
climaxed with us playing, using pots
and pans for percussion. Whisky
may have been involved.
I flew for the first time in 1988, to
a gig in Hamburg. I found the idea
that poetry could put me on a plane
mind-blowing, but it has taken mearound the world many times since. The
Beatles gave Hamburg a reputation as a
place to cut your performing teeth. I even
appeared in a strip club on the
Reeperbahn like they did, although there
were no strippers, thankfully.
Later that year I made my first trip to
Africa to be reunited with my mother,
who was working for the United
Nations in the Gambia. I flew via
Senegal and had to stop off in
Dakar. The first person I met was
an airport worker, who invited me
home to eat with his family and
then found me a hotel. What an
introduction to Africa.
Then the next day I met
someone on the flight to Gambia
who knew my mum. The flight
was full of NGO [workers] and
diplomats so everyone knew
each other. When we touched
down there was a black
Mercedes waiting for the UN
staff. They offered me a lift. One
by one everyone was dropped
until it was just me. We drove on
to Fajara, which is a smart beach
resort where my mum lived. IHarpists play at the medieval stone churches in Lalibela, Ethiopia, the homeland of Lemn Sissay’s motherrang the bell and there she was.
The Gambia was the perfect
introduction to Africa for me. It’s a small
country — a village in some ways — not as
overbearing as it might have been going
straight to a big city like Lagos or Addis
Ababa, and its beaches are incredible.
I actually got sunburnt while I was there.
I didn’t know it was possible for people
with black skin to get sunburnt because
I’d always listened to people with white
skin who said it wasn’t possible.
I have been to Africa, and Ethiopia in
particular, many times since. The most
beautiful part for me is Lalibela, whose
medieval stone churches should be
considered the eighth wonder of the
world. They are each carved out of one
single slab of rock and engraved from
inside. The engineering is remarkable —
the equivalent of pyramids. Addis Ababa
is also a vibrant city and I often use it
as a base to explore.
My mother now lives in New York.
I loved the place from the first moment
I stepped off the plane. She lives on
Roosevelt Island, which is a characterful
mini island between Manhattan and
Queens with a big Jewish-Russiancommunity. I’ve done a number of gigs
in the city, including a memorable
performance in Harlem with the Last
Poets. I also did a reading at the Red
Rooster, which was the hottest eating
joint in town at the time. It’s run by the
celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson, who
is also of Ethiopian heritage. I loved the
dishes there; it’s real comfort food. I’ll eat
anything from anywhere — American soul
food, jollof rice from Senegal, Ethiopian
kitfo — but I love fish and I think that goes
back to that first ever
holiday in Scotland.
Travelling for me has
always been a way to
create memories.Lemn Sissay OBE, 54, is a poet,
playwright and Bafta-nominated
broadcaster. He published his first
poetry collection at the age of 21.
In 2012 he was the official poet for
the London Olympics. His first
children’s book, Don’t Ask the
Dragon (Canongate), is out now.
He lives in LondonInterview by Mike PattendenThe poet went to Africa for the
first time to meet his mum and
loves New York’s comfort food
MY HOLS
LEMN
SISSAY
REUTERS, GARY DOAK/ALAMYwith sailing lessons at the
watersports centre. For
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stnicolasbay.gr.
As well as transfers in
Crete, the prize includes
London return economy
flights courtesy of Inspiring
Travel Company. For details of
its tailor-made programme of
luxury holidays see inspiring
travelcompany.co.uk.
The prize must be taken
before October 30, 2022,
excluding July and August.The winner and guest will stay
for four nights, half-board,
at St Nicolas Bay Resort and
Thalassa Villas, on the sun-
drenched coast of eastern
Crete. Set on the water’s
edge, overlooking Mirabello
Bay, the hotel reopens on
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of restaurant options —
including the new
gastronomic Labyrinthos.
The style is low-rise,
understated and distinctly
Cretan, and guests can make
their stays as active or as
languid as they like, mixing
treatments and yoga lessons
at the state-of-the-art spaOnly one entry per person,
at thesundaytimes.co.uk/
wherewasi by Wednesday.
Normal Times Newspapers
rules apply. No correspondence
will be entered into.The answers are Church
Wood and Thunderbirds.
Bettina Briggs of Lincolnshire
wins a Michelin-starred
break in the Lake District
at the Forest Side.across the ring road, 300
yards north of the church.
“Land of hope and glory,
huh?” I asked Friend as we
stood beneath its stands.
“Indeed,” he replied. “For
all sorts of people.” Over its
140-odd years, the club’s
fans have included a
bicycling composer and a
comedian (father, Ernest)
who also sang — most
cheerfully at the end of a
late-1970s film.
There was a small
problem, though. The club’s
museum and megastore
were closed. Friend was
gutted. “Don’t be
downhearted,” I told him.
“I’ve got just the thing for
when you’re chewing on life’s
gristle.” And I put a packet of
pork scratchings in his hand.
Friend wolfed them down.
Sean NewsomCOMPETITION
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Christmas had come early
for my friend. We were in the
birthplace of one his favourite
childhood bands — they
started in 1966. It’s also home
to a sports club of which he
had been an ardent fan.
“But why support them
when you didn’t live here?”
I asked as we walked across
the city centre towards the
club’s HQ.
“You know how it is when
you’re six,” he explained. “I
just loved the name. Mind
you, in the first half of the
1970s they were having a
good run.”
So was the band. But they
weren’t the city’s only musical
success story, as I pointed
out to Friend at a fine church
on our route. It was founded
before the Norman Conquest
and its status was, for a long
time, rather peculiar. But it
has a strong choral tradition.
“I bet they put on a good
festive show too,” I told him
with a wink.
The sports club was just1 What’s the name of
the comedian?
2 To which saint is the
* church dedicated?