Actor Adrian Lester's grandfather James travelled from the West Indies to Britain in the 1950s. In this programme, Adrian sets off for Jamaica where his 89-year-old grandfather returned some years before.
On his arrival Adrian is shocked to find his grandfather ill in hospital and has no choice but to investigate his family history alone. He discovers why so many Jamaicans made the journey to the mother country, and why his grandfather, in particular, decided to risk everything on a new life in Britain.
Adrian follows in his mother's footsteps, back to his home town of Birmingham, where she arrived in 1960 as a teenage girl. He meets one of her fellow pupils, who recalls how the new arrivals spoke better English than their Brummie counterparts. For his mother Britain held its own surprises. She was amazed to find that white people did manual work.
Sadly, 11 days after Adrian said goodbye to his grandfather in Jamaica, James Lester passed away.
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