I’m so proud of my boy

FOR most people Christmas is about putting your feet up and spending time with the family but Gareth Clarke has no time for that.

His mother Julie Huntington, from Henley, says her 42-year-old son would much rather be helping others while satisfying his sense of adventure.

Gareth spent the recent festive period in Nepal where he has been helping to rebuild a school damaged by an earthquake that struck in November.

He has been volunteering with disaster relief charity All Hands and Hearts since 2013 and got involved by accident.

Julie, an amateur actress and singer says: “Gareth has never been one for Christmas and has always done other things, such as cycling.

“If I hadn’t been there, I would have thought he was born with a bicycle between his legs. He has cycled from North to South Korea and round the Isle of Wight 10 times.

“In 2013, when he was between girlfriends, he booked a trip to the Philippines where he was going to visit a karate centre over the Christmas holidays but then a tornado hit and blew the entire place away and half the island with it.

“He still had the tickets and thought about what to do. He found All Hands and Hearts and went out there to help and that was a life-changing experience for him.

“From then on, he has always looked to do something like that. He has now been out four times with the charity, twice in Nepal but also to Peru, raising thousands of dollars for the relief fund.”

Much of the work is labouring, a far cry from Gareth’s regular day job of running his recruitment firm in Hazelbrook in Australia’s Blue Mountains, where he lives.

His mother says: “Gareth has found great camaraderie in the work and he has learnt so much. He has learnt some basics of carpentry as well as masonry work, such as making sure a wall has been built straight.

“A lot of it is basic labouring stuff but it has been so important. He even learned how to dig a hole properly.

“It is an amazing thing for him to have done and kept him going. He has got his own business yet he still finds time to dedicate to that sort of thing.”

Gareth is also a member of the State Emergency Services, a volunteer organisation which steps in when there are emergencies such as people lost in the bush.

“It’s like the Boy Scouts but for grown-ups,” says Julie. “They go out on rescue missions, following behind the fire brigade, to make sure there is no one stranded.

“His whole ethos is to try to do something good. He is an adventurer and has always had a bit of wanderlust. He once helped sail Lista Light, a Norwegian-built converted fishing boat, from Brisbane to Bristol.

“It was all manual, so it meant climbing rigging to release the sails — no automatic stuff. I believe Lista Light is now operating as a Greenpeace boat.

“He is always giving me a heart attack with the things he is doing but he has settled down a bit now.”

Gareth grew up with his mother and older brother Greg, who now works in IT, in Maidenhead and went to The Henley College before attending Bournemouth University where he did a degree in business and tourism.

Julie says: “He has always been a hard worker. He would be the first one to find a job — he couldn’t wait. He was a paperboy first and then his first proper job was with the Holiday Inn in Maidenhead.

“He loved hospitality and he has a degree in business and hospitality and tourism management and that’s what took him all over.

“He first went to Australia in 2004 for a gap year when he did silver service and sailed back on the boat. He was sponsored by a recruitment company to move out there. He is such a people person and gets the best out of others.

“He now runs his own recruitment consultancy for green energy. While he was in lockdown during the pandemic he launched Wood You Believe, which sold firewood.

“He then sold the business for $500,000 and used the database of customers for a new venture, Roof Mate. This cleans chimneys, solar panels, that sort of thing.”

Gareth married his wife Sarina at Phyllis Court Club in Henley in July. She works for a technology firm.

Julie says: “He is a good son and he is in touch every day. He sends me a text or a picture which I wake up to every morning.

“We see each other in person maybe every other year but he has been known to surprise me and turned up once at Christmas and we spent a bit of time together last year for his wedding.

“Both my boys are always looking to raise funds for charity. Greg is also a meticulous planner and cycling and fitness fanatic.

“Once when Gareth came over they independently cycled from ‘Palace to Paris’ to raise money for the British Heart Foundation, Greg’s favourite charity.

“They even thought to dress up for the finish line, when all the family met them at Champ de Mars under the Eiffel Tower. That raised in the region of £2,000.

“Gareth never stops wanting to learn about things and he is always cheerful with a winning smile.”