We said goodbye to my mother, Ann, on March 23rd. She was at home. We are all crushed.
Ann was a child of WW2. She was evacuated from London of the Blitz with her sister Jean, to South Stoke in Oxfordshire. A terrible thing for children of that era, but luckily for them, with relatives in the country, they were permitted to go there with their mum. Things were not so good for my father, who spent the war with strangers. My grandfather, Joe, a chauffeur, was allowed—unbelievably—to borrow his employers car (a Rolls Royce!) to transport his young family. They all made the best of it. Rationing meant food was tight but country people were inventive and had workarounds. Ann told us about the excitement when their uncle brought a pheasant home unexpectedly or some other “accidental” hedgerow find. Pictures published in Life magazine at the time show a small group of village children at a birthday party making biscuits sweetened with grated carrot and parsnips. My mum sits in a doorway, maybe 5, stirring a large basin wearing a pinny. Later, back in London, she trained as a pharmacist and met my dad. Her long career (mostly with Boots) ended with her 2000 retirement.
Above all, Ann had the curious mind of a scientist. As a small child she reportedly collected slugs and snails in her hankie. Her Botany excercise books show beautiful drawings of seed pods and stamens. When my brother found a newborn squirrel, eyes still jammed shut, he was resuscitated in her warming oven and fed evaporated milk with a dropper. Named Harold, the squirrel lived in our house for months, no matter that he chewed her hairbrush and decimated the larder. Even late in life, Ann patrolled her garden each day, feeding the fox and badgers, inspecting the birds and plants. She was fascinated by the natural world, genetics, epidemiology.
This inquisitive mind translated into her parenting, and grandparenting. Learning was encouraged, come what may. My brother and I were allowed to miss school to go to London to see the Tutankhamen exhibit. We would certainly stay up to watch “The Six Wives of Henry VIII”.
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Very sad yesterday to hear of the death of Festus Mogae, former president of Botswana. He was a great activist for HIV and was responsible for Botswana becoming the first African nation to provide free antretroviral treatment nationwide, notably via #Pepfar.
He was the recipient of the Mo Ibrahim prize for exceptional leadership.
And he was a tireless campaigner for #naturaldiamonds, promoting their positive contribution to his country, working with @adiamondisforever and NGOs including @diamondsdogood 🇧🇼He is shown here ⬆️ at an #Oscar dinner in Los Angeles, hosted by @juliannemoore in 2009. Swipe for more.
A visionary and an inspiring humanitarian. RIP.
So many people I love all in one place! A great event for #Desertdiamonds 💎bridal launch last week for @adiamondisforever
Spot the jewelry royalty 👑 we caught if you can!
🎥 @peedee010
For #WorldDiamondDay 💎a flashback to Kindred Lubeck’s glorious handful of 🇳🇦 diamonds in their most beautiful and natural state.
#naturaldiamonds #namibia #adiamondisforever
In honor of Oscars weekend, flashback to some favorite projects! 💎🌟
(Swipe to last frame for my best red carpet date! )
#flashback #redcarpet #botswanadiamonds
#adiamondisforever
