Obituary: Clare Hollingworth died on January 10th

WELL into her 80s Clare Hollingworth would sleep on the floor every week or so, just to prevent her body from getting 'too soft'. Her passport was to hand, with visas up to date, just in case the foreign desk rang. She liked to have two packed suitcases, one for hot climates, one for cold, though her wardrobe was notoriously sparse: in later life she was seldom seen in anything but a safari suit and cloth shoes. And all you really needed, she said, were the 'T & T''typewriter and toothbrush.Hardiness and bravery were her hallmarks. Neither shot nor shell ruffled her'excitement trumped fear, she said. She admitted to disliking only rickety lifts, and fleas in her hair. But she didn't mind bedbugs, going without food for five or six days, or not washing for even longer (despite entreaties from her colleagues).She could swim, ride, ski, fly a plane and jump with a parachute. And shoot: during the war she slept with a revolver under her pillow; spares included a small pearl-handled one for her evening bag. Aged nearly 80, she was seen climbing a lamppost to gain a better look at the crackdown in Tiananmen Square. She once...Continue reading
Click here to read full news..