CHILA SINGH KUMARI BURMAN MBE – AN IN-CONVERSATION WITH NICOLE POLONSKY @ RICHARD SALTOUN GALLERY

“We were chucked out on the street, when I was probably 5,6 or 7, lots of us were you know, working class families, didn’t have toys in the house or books to read or paper to draw on, everyone was chucked out onto the street. And we had a box of chalk for hopscotch, and about 5 balls, 3 to juggle, juggle on the wall and we had marbles, we called them ‘Ollies’, one phat one, and lots and lots of them. So in lots of ways, I think cos I had all that and lots and lots of girl friends, lots of us, a lot meaning around 10 I think, we all got to know each other, that’s where I had to make things up, do you know what I mean like, we had to make our own ideas up, draw on the floor, I think that freedom, not that my mum & dad gave me that freedom deliberately, I think that’s where kinda all this has come from about 9 or 10 then I passed the 11+, now how I passed the 11+ I do not know because we had no books in the house, nothing to draw on or scribble on, all I know is maybe in those the 11+ was a tick box thing, the other thing I was really good at my dad gave us a big ‘ol till receipt from the ice cream van and I was good at maths adding up all the numbers”

On receiving the MBE:

“Me mum & dad would’ve said “you go & fetch that from them, we did so much to build this country up, all of us, and all the ice cream trade in Liverpool, you need more than a medal, they should’ve given you a crown”

YES!

P