Two old friends of mine who I spent most of my childhood with settled down in Glasgow, where they could find work at the peak of the Polish unemployment crisis in the early 2000s. Krzysiek, a brilliant, sensitive guy, graduated the BA programme in English, and chose to join his brother and dad who'd emigrared earlier and found construction jobs. With his good language skills, he managed not only to get a job quickly, but started a business at a side, selling used quality clothes at the Polish internet auctions. Ajo, the other friend, who's always been the engine of our little crew and, at heart, a twin brother of Krzysiek, has been hopping jobs, from construction, to nightclub bouncing, to temping.
Half a year ago, the news broke that Krzysiek's ex-girlfriend gave birth to their baby, having got pregnant just before they split up. When I heard about it last Christmas, it struck me as a turning point, not just for him, but for the whole generation of boys, like Ajo, Krzysiek or me, now in their mid-twenties, but apparently taking on more and more responsibility, mellowing, leaving the youth days behind for good. I like the way such events make me reflect on how far we have all come and how the choices we made years ago have influenced the course of our lives.
This piece on Edinburgh in Intelligent Life inspired me to write the above.
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