The book ‘The Dancer’ tells Claire's inspiring story, written by her husband Alan Garnett. The book details the early struggles Claire underwent in a new country, but just three years later she had an established career as an eastern dancer on stage, television, and cinema. Claire and Alan have now been living at Audley Binswood luxury retirement village for five years.
Claire Garnett was born in Kermanshah, Iran in 1945. Her family then moved to Kingston, England when she was 15 and she did not possess a single word of English.
The book The Dancer details the early struggles Claire underwent in a new country, but just three years later she had an established career as an eastern dancer on stage, television, and cinema. This involved the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia personally sending his private jet for her so he could see her dance. She has also performed at the 21st birthday of the Belgian ambassador’s daughter, and for members of the Royal Family including Prince Charles.
With an eye for design, Claire opened her first jewellery and perfumery shop in London on her 20th birthday, and on her 30th birthday she opened her second shop, continuing to make and design jewellery for cruise ships over the years.
Mr and Mrs Garnett have now been living at Audley Binswood luxury retirement village for five years. They bought off-plan and were one of the first to move into the village. They have joined the social groups and use facilities such as the swimming pool every day. Claire also has no intention of ‘retiring’ in the traditional sense of the word, and wants to continue her jewellery business – including helping women learn how to make jewellery.
In Claire's words:
“Everyone always said I should write my story, but we wouldn’t have been able to had we not been living at Audley as maintaining a house takes up so much more time. Since moving, our lives have changed for the better. It’s difficult to find words that describe the daily pleasure of being in a luxury environment where one’s every wish seems to be accommodated. There are no more lawns to mow, no more windows to clean, no more trying to remember the day the bins go out and no more worry about security when we are away from our apartment. Many people leave their retirement very late and don’t get to enjoy it, but we now have the freedom to squeeze in as many of our hobbies as we can.”
The Dancer can be purchased from Amazon.
