My mum's memory lives on through HPB

Jane’s mother Joan became a Bondholder over 20 years ago, and made full use of her investment travelling to different destinations and telling her girls about them on her return.

When Joan was diagnosed with cancer a family trip was planned. Joan adored her grandsons Billy and Ashley and felt that HPB would provide her daughter Helen with opportunities to travel with them, that as a lone parent she might not otherwise experience.

An HPB holiday was arranged so that everyone could get together – Joan, Jane, her middle daughter Helen and her grandsons.

“Mum chose Kent – and everyone was very excited about going on holiday together.”

Sadly, Jane’s mother passed away before the holiday. The holiday did take place though and was such a success that Jane, Helen and the boys made it a regular event and have enjoyed numerous HPB trips since. Jane’s Bond has taken them to Brittany, Majorca and Turkey and they’re hoping to travel to Stigliano, Tuscany, in the near future. The boys are now at an age where family holidays are on the back burner, but the family and new family members continue to enjoy Joan’s legacy. Jane now travels with her sister Helen, and her partner and her parents.

We caught up with Jane and her partner Elaine in Puglia, where they were staying in one of the HPB trulli, the conical-roofed dwellings for which the area is famous. “It’s a little slice of heaven, down here,” Jane says. “Glorious weather, friendly locals, a relaxed pace, extraordinary architecture – these houses are both quirky, and utterly charming – and, of course, fabulous food.” Indeed – not least sun-dried tomatoes, one of the region’s many gifts to the culinary world. Jane’s job doesn’t involve sun-drying tomatoes (she’s a media executive), but she kindly took to the roof of Trulli A3 at the Bond’s Coreggia site, to re-enact a scene from yesteryear. The lady who formerly occupied the house was, apparently, famous for her sun-dried tomatoes!

Reflecting on her family’s 20 years with HPB, Jane says: “Taking out the Bond was one of the best decisions my mother ever made. She hugely enjoyed being a Bondholder, she visited loads of places she perhaps wouldn’t have otherwise, and forged some enduring friendships.

“Though the circumstances were tragic, to have inherited her Bond has been an absolute boon, and we owe it to her to make sure it’s put to good use. My ideal is that her grandchildren and great grandchildren will be enjoying these lovely venues for years to come.

“She would have loved Puglia – and all the other sites that have come on stream in the last 10 years. I do feel in some ways that when my family and I take an HPB holiday, she’s with us.”