Homage To My Mother

Our Mother’s gave us the gift of life.

Mine gave me mine on 7th April 1965.? It was a Wednesday apparently, but I have no recollection of that.

The star that is Gabriele Evelyn Christine Jarrett was born on the 20th March 1945 in a small town called Bad Hall in Austria.

Her date of birth was most apt since this day that usually marks the beginning of spring which was her favourite season and she always marvelled in watching the flowers bloom at this time of the year.

The daughter of war refugees fleeing what was then referred to as Prussia, she spent her formative years based in Düsseldorf, Germany which is where they settled.

Her first encounter with our green and pleasant land was when she was a young adult and came over to work as an au-pair and to master her command of the English language.

It was during this phase of her life that she met and married my Father, a union for which I shall always be eternally indebted and owe my very existence to.

This period also marked the beginning of a lifelong love affair with this country.

We lived in a large house in the stunning Hertfordshire countryside.??It was the swinging sixties, and I remember her taking me to fashion house Biba in Kensington in London on more than one occasion. She had style.

Whilst the relationship with my Father did not endure, her relationship with the United Kingdom did, and after a relatively brief spell back in Germany, she then moved and settled here on a permanent basis.

Gaby was essentially a people person whose open spirit and friendly manner towards everybody including strangers was remarkable and noticeable - not least since nowadays such behaviour and openness towards people is regarded with suspicion. Society in general is lacking in such warmth towards our fellow neighbours , and could do with more people like her.

Young or old, rich or poor, black or white, Gaby often touched the hearts of those she encountered thanks to her generosity of spirit and larger than life exuberance which was positively infectious.

A rebel at heart, she despised conventionality and would always seek out the extraordinary as opposed to the ordinary.

Her hunger for knowledge and love of words were another hallmark of Gaby who more often than not had a dictionary and thesaurus close at hand to help satiate said hunger.

It is said that youth is a state of mind, and Gaby radiated a youthful exuberance that would sometimes make people half her age seem docile by comparison.

She lived life to the full and her lust for knowledge and personal growth and improvement never waned and indeed arguably grew in her final years.

The film industry was one of Gabriella’s many passions and she was a keen and enthusiastic background artiste allowing her to actively participate in it. Through this, she met a large and diverse cross-section of like-minded individuals, and this career path allowed her to experience many facets of the city she loved so much.

Gaby was a selfless individual, her regular blood donations and her decision to help London’s homeless at Christmas being just two examples of this.

She kept this written on a card in her diary which I have in my office which says:

Keeping to your direction:

1. You were born with a purpose - it's part of you

2. Anything is possible

3. Look for the meaning or purpose of what you are doing

4. Participate more and plan less

5. Start anywhere; purpose is not linear - it's surprising

6. Focus on what you want - not what you don't want

7. Love what you do. Do what you love.

8. Listen carefully to your intuition.

9. Take action on intuition.

10. You don't have to become a different person

11. Stay in acceptance and positive energy

12. By your example you are responsible for inspiring others

13. When you are aligned, you easily draw on the cooperation of all

14. It's a game; enjoy, be light

God is helping you.

Wise words for us all??

Thank you Mum for being such fun and generous of spirit. Your beauty both internal and external will never be forgotten.

You were one of a kind, and I shall always be proud and grateful of having the privilege of being able to call you my Mother.