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Oral history recording with May Maria Laida, born on the island of Mauritius in 1946. Recorded as part of Race Council Cymru’s Windrush Cymru Heritage Project.

“I feel winter is very challenging and frightening for old people these days… it gets dark and you feel like closed in.”

May Laida was born on the island of Mauritius in 1946. She met her husband in school; seeking better opportunities, he boarded a ship to Britain during the 60s.

“My mum died at the age of 27, and I was seven years old, and my grandmother took me to live with her.”

“In 1963 or ‘64, the government issued vouchers for people to come to England to seek work… he [her fiancée] didn’t have a good profession, he was just a labourer…”

“[He] took the opportunity to apply… his cousin already lived in Newport… he had to look for work first and he sent for me in ‘65. I was here when I was 18. I came on a plane… it was called a VC10 [plane] then.”

“It was quite a nice town [Newport]… we go to the beach, we got parks, you got beautiful resort, we can take them… I had a little boy then.”

“We lived in a bedsit, there was a bathroom but the landlord didn’t let us use it.”

“It was very hard, but life was cheap, the room was cheap and the wages was under £10, so we lived on that…” “We had some friends who were Teddy Boys, but they were very nasty [in Llanwern]…”

“My neighbour told me Crompton Batteries was short of staff… I remember buying my son Doctor Martens shoes with my first wages… I left the morning job, but I got a job in the hospital in the evening 5 til 8 and I stayed there until I retired, the age of 65.”

“It’s good to keep your identity, who you are, you know, where you come from, don’t forget that root, never forget your roots [laughs].”