Odette Elliott

23/01/2014

‘Little brother’ visits our home – a preliminary visit. Sam asks “Do you like peas?”

  Sam chatted happily to Jah in the back seat as D. drove them home.  Jah was making his first visit to our home.  If all […]
20/01/2014

Preparing for the visit by Jah and his foster family. Necessary steps to be taken in adopting an older child.

When I was writing the Memoir a couple of years ago about adopting our children in the 1970s and 1980s, somebody asked me “How would your […]
13/01/2014

Seeing our new ‘little brother’ for the first time. He points “There’s a rock for Jah!”

It was springtime 1980. Once we had agreed to see Jah, the little boy who might come to complete our family, Pat his social worker sprang […]
04/01/2014

Reflections. The family story continued. “We have heard of a little boy who is longing for a ‘forever family’ “.

In September 1979 we were approved as would-be adopters for an older child.  I needed a job that I could do with a child-in-tow, so I […]
19/12/2013

Two moving memoirs about adoption.

 I have been trying to think of some of the best books I have received as Christmas presents in the past. There really are so many.  […]
15/12/2013

Rest in Peace Nelson Mandela

Rest in peace Nelson Mandela who preached and practised racial and gender equality, who cared for the rich and poor, black and white, young and old; […]
04/12/2013

Wot. No google Search in 1972?! How did people find information about multiracial issues in those days?

When we adopted baby Sam in 1972 there was no Google Search.  I don’t think anybody had personal computers.  I remember hearing about enormous computers that […]
27/11/2013

Applying to adopt a little brother. Sam says “the same colour as me”.

By the time Sam was six, we realised that the years had flown by and we had failed in one aspect of our family plan.  We […]
15/11/2013

Woo! Hoo! A good feeling from dance.

Our elder daughter has always loved dance and made it her career.  It clearly gives her a good feeling. And we get a good feeling watching. […]