June 22nd

We had just moved homes, and my sister and I were trying to remember the way home after school. We first went to the area of our old flat, and then tried to work it out from there.

It was winter so it was already dark and every bus driver we asked didn’t know what we were talking about. We got on some buses and hoped we would recognise the area when we saw it.

We got as close as our high street, meaning the house was 10 minutes walk away and we still couldn’t figure it out.

Things got a bit dicey when Eleanor needed the toilet.

To make things more confusing, the bus took the wrong route up the high street (maybe the bus driver was new too).

An elderly man shouted to the driver: “What is this mate? A fucking tour of Sydenham?”

And thats when I fell in love with Sydenham.

Whenever I have to walk up and down the high street, I call it my tour.