The Highlight of 2021

Reflecting on another challenging year I’d like to share the most positive thing I did in 2021.

My Dad, Laurie Smith, turned 81 in September, and that month I travelled to his home on the west coast of Scotland to spend several days talking with him about his life.

And the best thing, we filmed it all.

Born in India during WW2, he left home to join the Scots Guards at 16, travelled the world, got married at 24, raised a family, started numerous businesses, and enjoyed enormous success (and failure!) as a property entrepreneur.

Some of the stories he shared were new to me and some I’d heard many times over the years. There were tears of laughter and some poignant moments and even after hours of storytelling, I sensed that we were only scratching the surface - so we plan a sequel in 2022.

For now, we have a family heirloom, a treasure and a multimedia souvenir of an extraordinary life lived by an extraordinary human being.

My Dad tells me that he plans to live to be 100 and so I hope we have a chance to update the film in the years ahead! But for now, I have something important that I can share with my children and in the years ahead, I hope, eventually, their own children.

If you are lucky enough to have older family members, parents, grandparents, make yourself a promise this year to interview them and record it on film.

You don’t even have to travel or buy camera equipment.

Call them on Zoom and record it. Ask them to recount their childhood, major life events, and their passions.

Essentially, record a podcast interview of their life.

You’ll be so glad you have this when they’re no longer here.

It really beats just having photos.

Happy New Year!