Esther Freud confesses she has no idea what prompted her mother to leave England with her two young daughters in tow to swap their suburban existence for 1960s Morocco. “My mother was always full of adventure, loved to travel and loved other worlds,” she recalls. “We’d moved out of London by that time and my parents were separated. Her best friend had gone off to India with her little girl, who is still my best friend. She was the only other unmarried teenager my mother met when they were these two pregnant girls, and I feel that must have influenced her.
“But it’s so frustrating. Even though I spoke to my mother all the time about everything, I didn’t ever ask her specifically that question: ‘What was it that made you go?’. It just seemed inevitable and a good idea to leave where we were living, which was Tunbridge Wells [a genteel town in the south], to go to Marrakesh. Why not?” she muses with a wry smile.
Esther was four, her sister Bella (now a fashion designer) was six, and the 18 months they spent on the North African hippie trail were life-changing, though not equally welcome for the siblings. “It had a huge effect. I’d say it’s really a big part of me,” notes Esther. “For my sister, I don’t know. She had already had a bit of a life in England. She’d already started school, she had friends, so she was taken away from something. I was at an age where everything was my life. Bella used to say, ‘When are we going to go home?’ … For me it was very positive. It opened my imagination and made me feel that I had a story inside me.
Denne historien er fra August 2021-utgaven av The Australian Women's Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra August 2021-utgaven av The Australian Women's Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Hitting a nerve
Regulating the vagus nerve with its links to depression, anxiety, arthritis and diabetes - could aid physical and mental wellbeing.
Take me to the river
With a slew of new schedules and excursions to explore, the latest river cruises promise to give you experiences and sights you won’t see on the ocean.
The last act
When family patriarch Tom Edwards passes away, his children must come together to build his coffin in four days, otherwise they will lose their inheritance. Can they put their sibling rivalry aside?
MEET RUSSIA'S BRAVEST WOMEN
When Alexei Navalny died in a brutal Arctic prison, Vladimir Putin thought he had triumphed over his most formidable opponent. Until three courageous women - Alexei's mother, wife and daughter - took up his fight for freedom.
The wines and lines mums
Once only associated with glamorous A-listers, cocaine is now prevalent with the soccer-mum set - as likely to be imbibed at a school fundraiser as a nightclub. The Weekly looks inside this illegal, addictive, rising trend.
Jenny Liddle-Bob.Lucy McDonald.Sasha Green - Why don't you know their names?
Indigenous women are being murdered at frightening rates, their deaths often left uninvestigated and widely unreported. Here The Weekly meets families who are battling grief and desperate for solutions.
Growing happiness
Through drought flood and heartbreak, Jenny Jennr's sunflowers bloom with hope, sunshine and joy
"Thank God we make each other laugh"
A shared sense of humour has seen Aussie comedy couple Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall conquer the world. But what does life look like when the cameras go down:
Winter baking with apples and pears
Celebrate the season of Australian apples and pears with these sweet bakes that will keep the midwinter blues away.
Budget dinner winners
Looking for some thrifty inspiration for weeknight dinners? Try our tasty line-up of low-cost recipes that are bound to please everyone at the table.
