Odile: The Black Swan

As I look out from my hotel room I stare straight at the magnificent Andes mountains. They truly are magnificent, and this from a man who was born in the Rocky Mountains of Canada, raised in the English Lake District and owns an apartment in the French Alps. I know mountains and these are magnificent.

I am in Santiago the capital of Chile, to climb the highest mountain in the Andes? No for business, but that doesn’t take away the view.

I walked through a local park and came face to face with a lama, which is unsurprising when in the Andes. But it reminded me of my mother coming face to face with a lama when in the Sussex country side.

My eldest daughter Georgina and my mother were collecting daffodils in the woods behind my parent’s house in Sussex. George was 4yrs old, and my mother was trying to entertain her. They were off to see the sheep and the donkeys, however once in the wood my daughter wanted to see the lamas. My mother dismissal was absolute. But you know the way little girls have of getting there own way, especially George or is that only with me? So off they scampered through the wood to a field containing four (4) lamas.

Georgina continued to surprise and entertain my mother; witness both their delight watching a television programme below, priceless.



The last time I saw my mother conscious we were attending a school production of Swan Lake. Georgina now 15yrs old was playing Odile the black swan and as the script describes “she is radiant and proceeds to dance with the prince ...” which as her father I can confirm she looked gorgeous and very talented.

Not known for giving compliments easy my mother was beside her self with her talented grand daughter “Just think that beautiful, wonderful person came from me” if I remember her words correctly.

A week later I was awoken by the police asking me to ring the Royal Sussex hospital as my mother had been admitted. My mother never regained consciousness and died 48hrs later as I held her hand.

It’s strange how memories are interlinked, and what comes to mind as you walk through a park in the Andes. As to Aconcagua the highest mountain in South America we’ll see how the work goes!