Adjusting to Life in England

My name is Kwok Hing Fung and I came to the UK from Hong Kong in 1975. My journey from Hong Kong took 29 days. I arrived in France and after France I took the bus to the UK, then to Victoria station. From there I went to Liverpool and then my friends brought me to Yorkshire and I worked from then on.

Before I came to the UK, I lived in Fan Ling in the New Territory. It was a small and backward village. I lived in a traditional village house, but now it has changed and there is a lot of high rise building.

I worked as a waiter when I first came. Then I saved some money and got married, and opened a takeaway. Sometimes I had to cook as well. I partnered with my wife. The children were still young at that time. If you were a chef then you had to know how to cook. I worked at the front desk, therefore I had to know how to deal with the customers. Sometimes the customers were not so good and rude. I didn’t like it but I had no choice as I had to do it for a living. I worked in the takeaway until 1997 - I had been in the food business for a few decades.

When I came my dad and mum bought me a lot of coats and cardigans. The weather at that time was very cold. Compared to the weather now, it was colder at that time. It snowed a lot and the sky was dark and quite depressing.

I felt like a stone rested on me, it was very uncomfortable. I was single at that time and I missed my siblings and parents. The buildings were not that pretty and there weren't many Chinese at that time. Most of the Chinese were workers and students and there weren't many cafés and restaurants.

I was already living in Birmingham in the 1970s. Now I have been here for such a long time that I have got used to it. The UK is now my second home. Since my children were young, I educated them in the difference between Chinese and English. I told them to remember that they are Chinese.

The most important thing for me in the UK was to bring up my children so that they could earn a living by themselves. I am retired and old now and living in Connaught Gardens. Most of my old Chinese friends are old, or have passed away and left only their offspring. My dad and mum have passed away. My children are all here, therefore there aren’t many people I miss in Hong Kong.

My advice to new migrants would be, don’t make trouble and don’t get involved in illegal activities. We are all Chinese anyway, if they make trouble we will be looked down on by other people here, and this is something that I do not wish to see. I would also advise them to learn to speak English.