Farewell, Mum (Patreon)

Dear Patrons

This is my mother, Paula. She left us, and this world, two days ago. I am sharing this very personal news with you because I’d like you to know that, if you love The Juice Media, it’s in great part thanks to her.

She taught me to care about justice and fairness and to stand up for it from the start, passing on what her parents instilled in her in turn growing up in apartheid South Africa. As a child she dragged me (and my younger brother Daniel) halfway around the world, from Florence to Perth, Johannesburg to Windhoek, changing schools almost a dozen times, and in the process showed me the world, and made me resilient. She taught me to appreciate beauty, whether it be nature, art, literature or music, by the love and passion she had for those things. A passion she instilled in the hundreds of students she taught in schools and universities around the world - everyone recognising her sharp, funny and sometimes intimidating intellect. Even as a single-parent, she made sure my brother and I received a good education, and so many of the books that shaped my mind and the music that formed the soundtrack of my youth, came from her – from Borges to William Blake, Verdi to Johnny Clegg. A bit crazy and wildly imaginative, she inspired and nurtured a deep sense of curiosity and creativity in me from a young age. She stimulated my imagination, but also taught me how to write with a sense of narrative purpose, to distil my ideas so that I could communicate them to others in a way that gets to the heart of the matter (“the juice”). If that mix of ingredients is what makes the Honest Government Ads work, its thanks in great part to Paula. Even the swearing bit (although here I also need to credit my dad). There’s so much more to Paula of course, but these are some of the tools my mother gave me, and without which the Juice Media would never have been possible. So I just want to take this moment to acknowledge her.

Paula’s ultimate bravery was to gracefully face a painful and brutally slow decline at the hands of early-onset Alzheimer’s, a disease which robbed her, and us, of so much. Most painfully, it robbed her of being a grandmother to my and Lucy’s children, Luca and Juno, who never got to know her as the force of nature she once was. I feel anger when I think about the hundreds of billions blown on nuclear submarines instead of a cure that could have saved Paula, and the millions of people who will succumb to this singularly cruel disease. One day I want to make a video to get some things off my chest about this. But for now, I just want to say my heart goes out to all those who are travelling this road with their own parents, or partners. And if you’re reading this because you love the Juice Media, I desperately want you to know that so much of what you love is thanks to this woman I am proud to call my mother. Years ago, when she could still talk, she told me she was proud of what I am doing. So I know that Paula lives on in my work here at the Juice Media; and in her grandkids Luca and Juno, who Lucy and I will try to raise with the same passion for beauty, laughter and crazy adventures that she shared with us.

Love you mum. Rest in peace, finally. Your loving son, Giordano

ps. I will be travelling back to Cape Town for Mum's funeral in the coming days. I will make an Honest Goverment Ad in April, but it might be a little late. Thank you for your patience