Memories of Gloria

Your feature about paddling in the Philippines struck a particular chord with me, as it reminded me so much of my own childhood back in the early 80s, when my family lived in Manila. My father was a German diplomat and we lived in the Philippines for around five years, from when I was six and my little sister Claudia was just a baby.

Our mother was an academic, and so was also absent quite a lot with work commitments. The gap created by these two factors was filled by Gloria, a local nanny who my parents found for us very early on.