Francesca Giaitzoglou-Watkinson

The re-evaluation of my British citizenship after Brexit, brought home an internal division I’d never thought about, having considered myself a European citizen. What started off as a response to Brexit, eventually turned into a combination of two limitations, the latter being that of time. It had been three years since I last visited my 91 year-old grandfather in Wales, mostly due to the pandemic. His strokes had left him paralyzed down one side; I couldn’t avoid thinking it was maybe my last time with him. As his life slows down, the only thing he still loves, is retelling the past, which has become the main topic of our conversations. I decided to take over what he’d started; working on the family tree. I feel as though my concept of that side of my family is fading, creating the urge to look into a part of my history that I have never experienced to the full, but hold onto dearly.