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Feature
POWERLIST 2008
views on life. He was incredibly gentle, but looked very powerful and
formal. I was always intimidated by his immense knowledge. He was
a Latin scholar and assumed that we possessed the same ability.
Peter: I remember both my father and mother getting up early to go
to work. I now realize how hard they worked for us.
M: Ma was a terrifi c organiser, both of her offi ce [at the British
Council, where she was a Course Director] and at home. I don’t know
how she juggled it all.
Gus: I remember my father taking me out into the garden in my high-
chair to watch the sun set and my mother reading to me.
What about your own memories as kids?
M: We had happy Sunday lunches with lots of conversation on wide
ranging subjects, lots of laughter, jokes and political debate.
J: I remember attempting to play bows and arrows with my violin,
whilst Margaret studiously played the piano before she went on to
focus on the cello. I was a budding magician and constantly annoyed
Margaret: ‘I never felt
pressure to go into law.
It was a choice’
the others with poor magic tricks. they believed in and about injustice.
J: I loved music and became interested in early reggae, but also loved
Who were your early idols? progressive rock, Margaret introduced me to artists like Nick Drake
P: My early heroes were sporting greats. I was very aware of what Pele and Laura Nyro who remain favourites of mine.
and Muhammad Ali were achieving in very diffi cult circumstances. G: Ali, Marvin Gaye, then Michael Holding.
My father loved boxing and Ali was very much a family hero. We were
great Tottenham fans, so Jimmy Greaves was also a great hero. What was your relationship like with each other?
M: My father taught me a lot of how to enjoy the power of words so J: I think we were very close. Different, but close. This was punctuated
I admired both Dylans – Bob and Thomas, also Van Morrison, Lou by the odd punch-up [I had] with Peter. Margaret was, of course,
Reed and Wole Soyinka – people who wrote powerfully about what quite bossy. Pretty much as she is today.
What ambitions did you all have?
Peter
G: I always wanted to be an artist or a writer.
P: My father always watched the news and Panorama. We were very
aware of what was going on in the world. I still love news and current
affairs and ended up working for the BBC on programmes such as
Panorama and Question Time.
J: I was always interested in style, fashion and the thinking behind
social uniforms, this led me directly to fashion. I knew there was a
tradition of law and politics in the family, but felt very early on that
this was not for me. I must say I felt an enormous sense of relief when
Margaret went up to Oxford to study law.
M: I never felt pressure to go into law. It was a choice. I wanted to be a
barrister or a ballet dancer. So it was the barre or the bar, either way!
Growing up how aware were you of your grandfather’s work?
G: As soon as I was able to travel independently, I went off to
research his life and ended up writing a PhD on our family and
his work. As a person, what he did showed that you don’t
need to be contained by the context in which you grow
up. It’s not about aspiring, but exploding possibilities. As
someone growing up in a very conservative
era he foresaw possibilities that even now
seem radical. To be related to someone
like that is a great privilege.
M: I do remember being at school and
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