The Hero
الأســــــــــــــطورة
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- Jun 29, 2008
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Kate swept me into her arms... lucky for her Ive lost weight: Sir Richard Bransons indomitable mother gives her own account
Kate swept me into her arms... lucky for her Ive lost weight: Sir Richard Bransons indomitable mother gives her own account
An invitation from my son Richard to spend a week on Necker Island is always a welcome treat.
Although, sadly, I was worried - having left so much to do in England that I might get a wee bit bored and want to go home to get on with things.
As all my friends and family are well aware, Im not one for relaxing for too long my attention span is even shorter than my sons. But little did I know that this holiday would be far from boring.
Safe: Eve with Kate Winslet after the fire
The first day was fine, apart from poor Camilla Spence a family friend and one of Richards 23 guests who, to her dismay, sadly discovered her suitcase had not turned up. She soon cheered up because we all lent her various garments.
We spent a peaceful night feeding the parrots and our tortoise ET who is so tame. He always tickles our toes under the table at breakfast, hoping for a crumb or two. Then, off for a good nights sleep in the sumptuous bedroom.
A good nights sleep until 5am, that is, when I was woken by two loud cracking and banging noises. My first thought was the boys must be still partying and I turned over to sleep again. But no no prank. My grandsons Ned, Jack, Milo and Ludo were down the corridor shouting: Fire, fire out everyone leave everything now.
Blaze: Guests can only watch helplessly as Richard Branson's Caribbean home burns to the ground
Inferno: Fire rages at the luxury property but thankfully all guests managed to flee to safety
I realised this was no joke when I opened my door to see smoke and flames racing down the corridor. Jack had come to my door.
No, Granny, leave everything. Get out quick.
And quick I was until I came to the steps. It was dark, I had no contact lenses in and couldnt see a thing.
The steps were slippery and the rain and wind were lashing down while the fire flourished hot on our tail, smoke and flames chasing us on our way.
I was not afraid. Im a pretty calm person. Its no good getting hysterical. I kept my handbag, thank God, because it has my keys and diary and address book. My life is in that bag.
It was only at that moment that I became aware of Kate Winslet and her two children, Mia and Joe, behind me. Thankfully, Kate swept me into her arms and we all arrived safely at the bottom of the steps.
I had said: Come on, Kate. Im far too heavy for you. Let me do it on my own. But Kate wanted to help. She said: No, youre not too heavy.
How thankful she must have been that I was pretty light, having recently lost a bit of weight through illness.
Smouldering: The full impact of the fire became apparent the following morning
As it should be: The luxury home pictured before the fire
Pool inlcuded: Sir Richard rents out his sumptuous property to guests for much of the year
It was pitch dark, pouring with rain and the flames were coming after us. As I looked back over her shoulder, seeing beam after beam collapsing into the raging fire, I felt it was the devils henchman chasing us.
Once we were safely down, there was nothing to say to anybody. We were just so glad to be down on the ground. The flames were catching us up. Somewhat bedraggled, I ran with no shoes, rushing to safety.
The children were whimpering. We had to keep moving. We were all pretty numb.
It was so dramatic. There was no time to think. We had to get out. We struggled through the undergrowth. The wind and rain had reached near hurricane pitch as we all gathered in the Temple House on the hill.
Realising everybody was safe, we all started relating our sides of the story. There was much noise everyone talking over everyone else, adrenaline pumping through our veins.
Hot property: Much of the building's wooden framework was reduced to ashes
Kate swept me into her arms... lucky for her Ive lost weight: Sir Richard Bransons indomitable mother gives her own account
An invitation from my son Richard to spend a week on Necker Island is always a welcome treat.
Although, sadly, I was worried - having left so much to do in England that I might get a wee bit bored and want to go home to get on with things.
As all my friends and family are well aware, Im not one for relaxing for too long my attention span is even shorter than my sons. But little did I know that this holiday would be far from boring.
Safe: Eve with Kate Winslet after the fire
The first day was fine, apart from poor Camilla Spence a family friend and one of Richards 23 guests who, to her dismay, sadly discovered her suitcase had not turned up. She soon cheered up because we all lent her various garments.
We spent a peaceful night feeding the parrots and our tortoise ET who is so tame. He always tickles our toes under the table at breakfast, hoping for a crumb or two. Then, off for a good nights sleep in the sumptuous bedroom.
A good nights sleep until 5am, that is, when I was woken by two loud cracking and banging noises. My first thought was the boys must be still partying and I turned over to sleep again. But no no prank. My grandsons Ned, Jack, Milo and Ludo were down the corridor shouting: Fire, fire out everyone leave everything now.
Blaze: Guests can only watch helplessly as Richard Branson's Caribbean home burns to the ground
Inferno: Fire rages at the luxury property but thankfully all guests managed to flee to safety
I realised this was no joke when I opened my door to see smoke and flames racing down the corridor. Jack had come to my door.
No, Granny, leave everything. Get out quick.
And quick I was until I came to the steps. It was dark, I had no contact lenses in and couldnt see a thing.
The steps were slippery and the rain and wind were lashing down while the fire flourished hot on our tail, smoke and flames chasing us on our way.
I was not afraid. Im a pretty calm person. Its no good getting hysterical. I kept my handbag, thank God, because it has my keys and diary and address book. My life is in that bag.
It was only at that moment that I became aware of Kate Winslet and her two children, Mia and Joe, behind me. Thankfully, Kate swept me into her arms and we all arrived safely at the bottom of the steps.
I had said: Come on, Kate. Im far too heavy for you. Let me do it on my own. But Kate wanted to help. She said: No, youre not too heavy.
How thankful she must have been that I was pretty light, having recently lost a bit of weight through illness.
Smouldering: The full impact of the fire became apparent the following morning
As it should be: The luxury home pictured before the fire
Pool inlcuded: Sir Richard rents out his sumptuous property to guests for much of the year
It was pitch dark, pouring with rain and the flames were coming after us. As I looked back over her shoulder, seeing beam after beam collapsing into the raging fire, I felt it was the devils henchman chasing us.
Once we were safely down, there was nothing to say to anybody. We were just so glad to be down on the ground. The flames were catching us up. Somewhat bedraggled, I ran with no shoes, rushing to safety.
The children were whimpering. We had to keep moving. We were all pretty numb.
It was so dramatic. There was no time to think. We had to get out. We struggled through the undergrowth. The wind and rain had reached near hurricane pitch as we all gathered in the Temple House on the hill.
Realising everybody was safe, we all started relating our sides of the story. There was much noise everyone talking over everyone else, adrenaline pumping through our veins.
Hot property: Much of the building's wooden framework was reduced to ashes