“My mum was my mum. My mum was my only mum. My mum was the best mum anyone could ever wish for – period. My mum was always there for me. The only time she ever slapped me was when I let scalding water into my sister’s bath aged six. When I was caught shoplifting at the age of 11, she took the call from the security guy and never told my dad. Later she supported me and my best friend in some hair-brained casino gambling scheme. Already well into adulthood and lacking funds, she paid for my romantic flight of fancy to Germany in order for me to find out if ‘she’ was the one – which she wasn’t. In short, my mum was always at my side and now she is no longer – a loss I cannot really put into these few words.”
Jutta, born in war-torn Germany, met my father Karl in Hamburg, followed and married him in Lagos, Nigeria, where I was born, before the new family was joined by my sister Christiane upon their return to Europe.
London then became their home for almost 20 years before the Algarve turned into their permanent residence over the past 40 years.
Here, Jutta, Karl and Christiane built the family restaurant Al Borboleta in Porto de Lagos. Following their retirement, my parents continued to live in the foothills of Monchique where my father also left us some 12 years ago.
I think I can say that we celebrated life as individuals and as a family, and if my father and mother are together again now, they would look back with few regrets.
Dirk Bandele Hinrichs
