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Following Leeds
IT'S been almost three decades since Rochelle Ratner left Leeds with her head filled with memories, observations and impressions.
Yet only now has she finally published them in a collection which pays homage to one of the influential figures in her life – her grandmother.
Betsy Leon, better known as Bessie, lived most of her 74 years in Atlantic City, but she was born and raised in Leeds up until she left for the states at the age of 23.
And it was the anecdotes and tales of her home city which captured the imagination of little Rochelle, inspired her to become a writer and finally pen her latest creation, Leads.
"My grandmother would tell me all these tales about Leeds." she said. "And what I found interesting was the fact that when she told them they changed slightly every time. And it was this that set me on the path towards writing because it made me want to explore the notion of storytelling and change.
"But it was also as a result of these stories that I longed to go back there and see for myself – to me Leeds was a fairytale place.
"And when I was ten years old my grandmother was all set to take me back herself and just before we did she had a heart attack and never again went back. So I never got to go with her to Leeds."
IT'S been almost three decades since Rochelle Ratner left Leeds with her head filled with memories, observations and impressions.
Yet only now has she finally published them in a collection which pays homage to one of the influential figures in her life – her grandmother.
Betsy Leon, better known as Bessie, lived most of her 74 years in Atlantic City, but she was born and raised in Leeds up until she left for the states at the age of 23.
And it was the anecdotes and tales of her home city which captured the imagination of little Rochelle, inspired her to become a writer and finally pen her latest creation, Leads.
"My grandmother would tell me all these tales about Leeds." she said. "And what I found interesting was the fact that when she told them they changed slightly every time. And it was this that set me on the path towards writing because it made me want to explore the notion of storytelling and change.
"But it was also as a result of these stories that I longed to go back there and see for myself – to me Leeds was a fairytale place.
"And when I was ten years old my grandmother was all set to take me back herself and just before we did she had a heart attack and never again went back. So I never got to go with her to Leeds."
Bessie died in 1967 and it would be over a decade before Rochelle, who was busy establishing a literary career for herself in the big apple, got to fulfil her dream.
Finally in 1978 she came to the UK and took time out to visit the 'fairytale city' a city which, in 1978, was probably at its lowest ebb.
"Sure it wasn't quite the fairytale I expected it to be." laughs Rochelle. "The place was very run down and so much had been pulled down or become no-go areas that I found it difficult to retrace the steps I wanted to.
"But there was this overwhelming sense of being at home, and from what my grandmother told me I felt her presence everywhere.
"And by the time I left I felt a tinge of sadness but overall a great sense of fulfilment at having finally gone to the place I'd always dreamed of."
That seed was planted in Rochelle's mind from an early age because she spent so much time listening to her grandmother who must have sounded very odd talking with a Yorkshire accent in Atlantic City.
Rochelle said: "From an early age everyone thought I had a speech impediment because I pronounced some words and sounds a little strangely too.
"My parents wanted to give me elocution lessons and they never made the connection between the way I spoke and my grandmother's Leeds accent.
"It was only when I came to England and befriended someone in London who was from the Lancashire/Yorkshire border that I made the connection."
This inspired Rochelle, now 58, even further, and her determination bore fruits when she finally headed north. Once in the city she found one of the three streets where her grandmother lived – Whitelock Street in Sheepscar.
She was also directed towards another place where she once lived but in a telling sign of the times she was warned not to go there.
This, along with so many other memories of her visit is recorded in verse. Some recall happy discoveries, some soil the fairytale image she held so dear.
"The streets are so bad now." she recalls being told. "They tell people not to walk alone. It's bad all over. There's nothing the same there."
In many cases Rochelle struggled to retrace her ancestry. Her great great grandparents came from Poland to Leeds in the 19th century so many of the records which she hoped would enlighten her couldn't be found.
She only has sketchy information about her great-grandfather Simon Leon, like so many Jewish men at the time he was a tailor in Leeds and left for the states as soon as he could afford to.
Rochelle's Jewish past plays an intrinsic part in trying to forge an identity through Leeds and fortunately she found numerous reference points to this.
They included visiting the grave of her late great grandmother Hannah whose headstone still stands in the Hebrew Cemetery in New Farnley.
All of these are captured in a book which not only relates personal memories but also captures the essence of a city at a time when it was going through a painful transition from industrial powerhouse to the modern regional capital it is today.
And now that transition is complete would she consider returning to write a second volume?
"Well, yes I would like to go back." she admits. "But I worry that it might have changed so much over the last 30 years that a lot of what I felt connected me to my grandmother would have gone, but I guess I can never be sure until I found out for myself."
Leads is available on the internet. Visit www.lulu.com or other online booksellers. ISBN 978-0-9803-6591-7 Once in the city she found one of the three streets where her grandmother lived – Whitelock Street in Sheepscar.
She was also directed towards another place where she once lived but in a telling sign of the times she was warned not to go there.
This, along with so many other memories of her visit is recorded in verse. Some recall happy discoveries, some soil the fairytale image she held so dear.
“The streets are so bad now.” she recalls being told. “They tell people not to walk alone. It’s bad all over. There’s nothing the same there.”
In many cases Rochelle struggled to retrace her ancestry. Her great great grandparents came from Poland to Leeds in the 19th century so many of the records which she hoped would enlighten her couldn’t be found.
She only has sketchy information about her great-grandfather Simon Leon, like so many Jewish men at the time he was a tailor in Leeds and left for the states as soon as he could afford to.
Rochelle’s Jewish past plays an intrinsic part in trying to forge an identity through Leeds and fortunately she found numerous reference points to this.
They included visiting the grave of her late great grandmother Hannah whose headstone still stands in the Hebrew Cemetery in New Farnley.
All of these are captured in a book which not only relates personal memories but also captures the essence of a city at a time when it was going through a painful transition from industrial powerhouse to the modern regional capital it is today.
And now that transition is complete would she consider returning to write a second volume?
“Well, yes I would like to go back.” she admits. “But I worry that it might have changed so much over the last 30 years that a lot of what I felt connected me to my grandmother would have gone, but I guess I can never be sure until I found out for myself.”
l Leads is available on the internet. Visit www.lulu.com or other online booksellers. ISBN 978-0-9803-6591-7
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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