Cynthia Barker (1962 – 2020)
“Remembering and honouring you on this day, one year after this world lost a precious soul!. . a year without you has felt like an eternity. Missing you always.”
Time really does fly . . . it’s been a year now since her passing. It was on the 14th of September 2020 when I received the sad news. I knew it was coming with only a weeks’ notice when I found out that she was seriously ill. I was DEVASTATED; it came as a big shock to me and to everyone who knew and worked with her. She left a big hole in my heart.
My admiration for a woman who never quit until the last breath of her life. That woman, of course, is our much-loved, Filipina-born British politician who served as the Mayor of Hertsmere Borough Council until her death. She served as a town councillor for Elstree and Borehamwood and as borough councillor for Potters Bar from May 2015 to May 2019. I am truly blessed to have known the incomparable Cynthia, who was taken from us far too soon, leaving so many great memories of her that I don’t know where to begin.
Intang or Cyn as I fondly call her had been a friend of mine for almost 30 years. I first met her at a Rainbow demo in Borehamwood in the early ’90s, where I spent my early life in the UK. With her travel business then at the same time, I used to accompany her delivering the airline paper tickets to some of her Filipino clients around the London area. We would go home in the early hours of the morning when I had to work the next day. I also used to take her daughter Christine, who was then 3 years old, to nursery school whilst Cynthia was busy running her business.
She was an entrepreneur who was always on the go and always thinking BIG… she introduced me to many opportunities for my personal growth and development and always encouraged me to do more. She became my inspiration but, at the same time, I supported her in many of her career and political aspirations! This started our long-term friendship. In 1994, I met my future husband and I moved down to South London, but the distance was not a hindrance. I can still remember seeing her in Colindale, North London, waving a sad goodbye to me as we drove off. She was my bridesmaid at our 1995 wedding. Our friendship was sealed when she became the godmother of my daughter in 1999. From then on, we spent time together at many family gatherings, Christmas, summer parties and other social events.
In the early part of the millennium, she became very occupied with her immigration and recruitment business, but we still managed to meet up despite her busy schedule whilst I was a full-time mum. For many years, we had celebrated our joint birthdays together (being 1st and 4th of March – both Pisceans) with our partners and friends in famous London restaurants or some long weekends abroad. We would often talk about what we were going to wear at events, such as the Royal Ascot, Wimbledon, and many other major royal weddings/events that we attended as spectators. She was a keen royalist and never missed the trooping of the colour every year. As a fashionista, she loved being photographed and shone brightly in the limelight – a classy and exceptional woman!
From a shy girl from a barrio in Laguna to becoming Mayor of Hertsmere Borough Council until her death last year, I witnessed her transformation when she entered politics. She started getting involved in several charity organisations when she sold her business.
In 2015, she ran for the local election as a local councillor in which she won two seats, as town and borough councillor under Conservative Party. She introduced me to the Filipino community in London in 2016 when she was invited as a keynote speaker at one of FWA-UK’s events which we both joined and subsequently became members of the Executive Board. She was the chair of the Outreach & Community Affairs committee of FWA-UK for a couple of years. We worked together on many projects for the Association, such as the Grenfell Tower Fire and ABS-CBN/TFC, to name but a few. I have many fond memories of working alongside her on numerous other occasions. As she worked hard, her political aspirations continued. She was elected as Deputy Mayor in 2019 and subsequently as Mayor of Hertsmere Borough Council in June 2020. I used to say to her that I never liked politics, but always supported her behind the scenes, I was her friend PA. She admired my work ethic for being organised and efficient but, most of all, she liked my creative skills that got me involved in some of her projects. She used to ask me a range of things, like …. “Raq, I need PowerPoint slides for my meeting’ or “would you design me a leaflet?” and I would advise her on some techie matters, such as social media, website and I would even review and give feedback on her speeches and outfit choices. I was there when she received her first major award, the British Community Honours Award (BCHA) at the House of Lords in 2016 then, the following year in 2017, she was chosen as one of the ‘100 Most Influential Women in the World’ for the Filipino Women’s Network in Toronto, Canada. She was due to become a patron of the BCHA in 2020, but due to the pandemic, all events were cancelled.
She was a woman who wore many hats, running here and there, trying to attend every event she could and attending interviews with journalists here and in the Philippines. Little did I know, she was already ill. For two years, I wasn’t aware, although I noticed something in her expression, I always dismissed it; I always believed in her. She tried to overcome her pain and was just trying to do her best and putting on a brave face. Cynthia was a fighter and she fought until the bitter end. She made us proud for being the first female Filipino councillor, Deputy Mayor and finally Mayor of Hertsmere Borough Council. She was extremely proud of her heritage and committed to doing her utmost to champion equality and diversity for the community in Hertsmere.
She became popular and lifted the image of the Filipino people in the UK Filipino community. She met many famous personalities, both in the political and celebrity world, including former UK PM’s such as Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Teresa May, Boris Johnson, and many other MP’s and she used to send photos to our WhatsApp chat.
But, despite her fame and success in the Filipino and local community, she walked tall but always had her feet on the ground. She was such a humble and kind person who always thought of other people. If I said that I had a story to tell her, she would always drop everything and would ring me straight away. I miss our early morning and late evening girly talks.
For me, no matter how high she went and what she had achieved in her life, she will always be my ‘kumare’, confidante and a true friend whom I can call my sister!
As I write this article, I can’t help but feel a pinch on my chest and tears start falling. Realised that she’s no longer here to call each other when there’s something to chat about. I really miss her one year on . . . I see her daughter and four grandchildren and I’m so happy to continue what she has left behind.
The dozens of memories shared by people from around the world about her are testament to the warm, loving, and the irrepressible person that she was. She brought so much joy to so many lives and her work as a local councillor was an inspiration to others from all walks of life. She will never be forgotten; her work on the council and in the community will continue to be felt for many, many years to come.
To commemorate her first anniversary, I gathered with her fri
ends and family to visit her final resting place, laid flowers, lit a candle and played her favourite music, ‘Perfect’ by Ed Sheeran. A year without her has felt like an eternity.
As I reflect on the last 12 months, I think of this beautiful quote:
“Those we love don’t go away; they walk beside us every day.
Unseen, unheard, but always near; still loved, still missed and very dear”
by: Raquel Scrivens