Christmas Dinner. With Lemn Sissay, MBE.
For years before I met him, I’d spot poet Lemn Sissay in his gold bicycle helmet, coat tails flying, zipping through Hackney on his bicycle. When he agreed to become an #Artskickers judge and I got to meet him in person, nothing could’ve prepared me for the “Lemn effect”. He’s dazzling and magnetic, one of those people who inspires you to be a better person.
Lemn’s story
Lemn’s own story is both tragic and redemptive, heartbreakingly documented in his poetry, plays and broadcast work. Born in Wigan, baby Lemn was placed in care against the wishes of his Ethiopian mother. His ‘adoptive’ parents put him back into care at the age of 12 and Lemn was then in and out of care homes until finally being ejected from the system, alone and penniless, at 17.
The Report
Lemn’s search for the truth about his life began then, but it was only earlier this year, shortly before his 50th birthday, that his social services files were released to him. A psychological assessment was required for this to happen and The Report was read to him, live on stage at The Old Vic theatre in London in June.
“There are things that I’ve done that I’m proud of, but of all the things I’ve done, ‘The Report’ was the piece, the sweet spot, the ultimate in stage performance… I was here but not here, absolutely present and NOT.”
The emotional public reading of The Report did much to shine a light on the failings of the UK care system. The open telling of his story can’t be easy, but Lemn does it for himself and for the many voiceless careleavers who struggle daily to cope in a world in which they don’t feel they fit.
Shining Light
To many, Lemn is beacon of hope, a powerful advocate and role model. When I put this to him, he responds,
“It’s an honour to be a role model but I don’t set out to be that. To not carry the shame of children’s homes — THAT’s a very deliberate thing.”
That feeling of shame is thrown into sharp relief at Christmas, a reminder to careleavers of everything they never had. For a young person in care, Lemn has written that…
“the onset of Christmas is like playing pass the parcel to the tune of jingle bells and knowing there’s nothing in the box”.
Christmas Dinner
“Christmas day is the worst day of the year. Everyone disappears into their own dysfunctional families. Mum drops the sprouts on the floor, Aunty Alex drinks too much, Uncle Gerry is ill, but still smoking… it’s all about STORIES, the compounding of memories of Christmases gone before. Christmas for careleavers — there is no story. You feel the nothingness very sorely on Christmas Day.”
In 2013, Lemn held the first Christmas Dinner for careleavers in Manchester, with 45 guests and a core team of 12 volunteers. The following year, it happened in Hackney, where 70 guests sat for dinner and a proper Christmas knees up laid on by local volunteers. This year, with the support of generous sponsors including the Co-Op and a contingency fund administered by the Lemn Sissay Foundation, dinners are planned on Christmas Day in Leeds, Liverpool, Oxford, Scotland… “We’re lighting up the country like a Christmas tree!”
“The dinners are creating positive, powerful, memories of love and community and abundance, memories to look back and build on.”
It’s no surprise to Lemn that the Christmas Dinner took off the way it did in Hackney, his home for 15 years and counting. With support from the borough’s can-do creative population, the commitment of Hackney’s careleaving services and a large dose of the “Lemn effect”, this year will be another memorable Christmas for everyone involved.
originally published in LoveEast Magazine, December 2017
To support the Hackney Christmas Dinner…
🎄 DONATE what you can on CROWDFUNDER
🎄 Buy a gift using the Christmas Dinner amazon gift list
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🎄 For referrals and guest queries, email hackneyxmasdinner@gmail.com
