Barbara Hosking died last month, at the grand age of 94. She was the first to admit that she had relished the long, varied, fun-filled life she had lived, and was ready to meet her death – with curiosity, at least. I was honoured to call her a friend and mentor.

It feels apt on #LesbianVisibilityDay to be thinking about a brilliant woman, immensely popular & with a whole host friends + admirers into her 90s. Barbara Hosking, never one to do things by halves, ‘came out’ (publicly) aged 91 while talking to @Emmabarnett on @bbc5live.

I will remember Barbara as tremendous fun. She’d invite me over for G&Ts after work (my office was just across from her flat), or she’d take me out to lunch - where she’d fill me with wine and excellent life advice, and admonish me for not yet having asked for a promotion at work

Barbara was one of the most energetic people I have ever known, in her 90s she was off to the opera or the theatre, with a diary busier with lunches and dinners than most people I know in my twenties. And she made sure to always drink her recommended 2 glasses of red wine per day

A former civil servant and aide to two Prime Ministers, she never took her eye off what was happening in Westminster or abroad, and she was always up-to-date on the latest Game of Thrones or Sally Rooney. She was a marvel. She’d do anything she could to help anyone in need.

She despised Brexit – insisting it wouldn’t fix any of the problems that had driven people (many in her beloved Cornwall) to vote for it, & hating that it would deprive younger generations. On an anti-Brexit march, she said ‘find me by the Millicent Fawcett statue’.

Barbara was a fantastic friend, mentor and supporter to SO many. She was a member of the 300 Group, which campaigned to get more women into politics, the @IWFUKwomen, and the first woman elected to the Reform Club. She was a champion of the arts & proud patron of @CleanBrk.

When her memoir was published, she was overjoyed that we got to whizz around to events, meeting some of her own heroes. She was elated to find herself sat at lunch, after an interview with the late Lynn Faulds Wood, next to titans Michael Frayn and Claire Tomalin.

A personal highlight of my own career was the day that Barbara and her book went viral - thanks to her interview on 5 Live - which led to the culmination of two of *my* favourite things in life trending on Twitter: Barbara Hosking and ABBA (though I don’t think she was a fan). https://twitter.com/bbc5live/status/963715679865188352

At the packed party to launch Exceeding My Brief: Memoirs of a Disobedient Civil Servant, there were SO many guests that to my dismay we ran out of books almost immediately. @IainDale was about to have me thrown into the Thames, before I told him how many books we’d already sold.

The launch of the book gave Barbara, already a fantastically successful, well-connected, and frantically busy person, a whole new set of engagements as she was suddenly in hot demand for book talks and speeches, not least the keynote speech at @stonewalluk 2018 conference. https://twitter.com/stonewalluk/status/989882087489630208

I know that, personally, Barbara was most delighted and moved to have been invited back to her beloved Cornwall to discuss her memoir at @NCornBookFest with @PNovelistGale and @PetrocTrelawny. Here she is, rocking a fabulous suit.

‘Exceeding My Brief’ is a great memoir, full of fun, compelling stories from No 10, anecdotes from the Gateways Club, and so much more.

Here’s Barbara Hosking in a lovely portrait by @HeroJohnsonArt and looking her true mischievous self in @gaystheword. http://shorturl.at/fhvK1 

One of her greatest loves was classical music, so naturally one of her dreams was to appear on @BBCRadio3’s #PrivatePassions.

So, you can hear Barbara talk about her life in her own words here. (She never quite her rolling Cornish Rs.) http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0004s49

She was born in Penzance, and had a relatively austere childhood - a tough start in life clearly formed the determined person so many admired. With no university qualifications, Barbara came to London & had early stints working for a copper mine in Tanzania & in the Labour Party.

She joined the civil service, where she worked (and gave as good as she got) for two Prime Ministers before taking up hugely influential posts at the IBA and Westcountry Television where she was a champion for equal pay and worked tirelessly to level the playing field for women.

Read some fuller accounts of Barbara Hosking’s life in the obituaries (£) written about her...

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/barbara-hosking-obituary-x3l2dtb2x
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2021/03/25/barbara-hosking-downing-street-press-secretary-pioneer-breakfast/

It’s awful to have to watch the funeral of someone who deserved a great party on a computer screen but it’s a worth life celebrating.