Anyone with great passion has a driving force beneath their fire and a role model to inspire their journey. My family has always been my main source of reason.
Paul Zetter CBE, My Grandpa (1923-2022) holds a special place within everything I do and aspire to be.
With his relentless achievements in the tanks and morse-coding during world war II, then running one of the most famous football pool business’s in the world, ‘Zetter’s Pools’, a family-run company since 1933. My Grandpa was the chairman of the ‘Sports Aid Foundation’, which was established in 1976 and has since helped thousands of young sportspeople on their way to international success, including Sebastian Coe, Torvill and Dean, David Wilkie to name but a few.
When I was growing up my family and I lived on a farm in West Sussex, England, My grandpa made this place extra special by creating a magical world. Fairy’s used to come and visit me every week after school and leave gifts for me under the big Oak tree down the lane, my imagination would run wild whilst teaching me the wonders of Shakespeare and other greats.
He was the life and soul of every party and could make friends with anyone, turn negatives into positives, was humble, modest, wise, generous, and his marriage of 65 years with my Grandma was also incredibly admirable.
Honoured by the Queen as A Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE), Paul Zetter was a magnificent man and my greatest role model. He continued to write poetry, go to parties, and live every second to it’s fullest until the day he passed. I am so proud to be his Granddaughter.