In 1960 I was 11 years old and living in Manchester. My mother was a great seamstress and we would go into the city centre to buy materials, in and around Stevenson's Square. That was my first introduction to a Jewish community. I asked many questions such as "What is a Jew?", "What is the Jewish religion?," and "Why are there so many tailors & fabric shops in the area?. My mother explained about coming to Britain for safety and then told me about the Holocaust. It was aweful to learn about, but very necessary. My father worked for Home Office Approved Schools at that time and was full of admiration, that there was only one Jewish approved school in the country, and that was never full. The Jews, he said, look after their own and family was everything. I admired that too and wished I'd come from a Jewish community. "Ridley Road" has taught me some uncomfortable truths, that although I thought 'normal' people didn't judge by colour, creed or sexual orientation - and I still think that, nevertheless old prejudices were dangerously held whilst I lived in ignorance. At 72 maybe I still do. Everyone should watch this series. Food for uncomfortable thought indeed.
Review of Ridley Road
