Receiving us in a small house in the Bromley district in Southeast London, the openness and sincerity of poet Thanh Phan and his wife, Mrs. Minh Nguyet, made us feel like we were meeting close relatives in a foreign land.

A conversation with the poet, over 80 years old, but sharp and full of enthusiasm, and his wife, a Hanoian woman with elegant and noble beauty, helped us understand more about the personality of President Ho Chi Minh.

Poet Thanh Phan shared that May 19 is a special day for his family because it is associated with the memory of his beloved father, who followed Uncle Ho to fight the resistance war from the early days. Mr. Thanh Phan said that, coincidentally, his father passed away on May 20, exactly one day after Uncle Ho’s birthday, so May is always a big anniversary for the family.

Poet Thanh Phan was born into a bourgeois family in Hanoi. His father was Phan Nam Anh (later changed his name to Phan Hoa Sinh), a famous silk merchant in Hanoi. The Phan family at that time owned large silk shops on Hang Ngang, Hang Dao and Hang Duong streets.

Mr. Phan Hoa Sinh’s family lives at 36 Hang Ngang Street, very close to the house at 48 Hang Ngang of the patriotic capitalist Trinh Van Bo, where President Ho Chi Minh wrote the famous Declaration of Independence.

In September 1945, moved by President Ho’s call, Mr. Phan Hoa Sinh, his neighbor, Mrs. Hoang Thi Minh Ho, wife of Mr. Trinh Van Bo, and many Hanoi capitalists mobilized and participated in donating money and gold to the Government during the Golden Week from September 17 to 24, 1945.

The Golden Week event was an important turning point, changing the life of businessman Phan Hoa Sinh when he decided to give up his money and fame, responding to President Ho Chi Minh’s call to join the resistance with the desire to protect the country and liberate the nation. During the 9 years of joining the resistance from 1946 to 1954, Mr. Phan Hoa Sinh was honored to live and work with Uncle Ho and many of his comrades such as Pham Van Dong, Vo Nguyen Giap, Truong Chinh in the Viet Bac resistance base. This period of time left him with many beautiful memories of Uncle Ho and valuable lessons from him, at the same time profoundly changing the ideology and lifestyle of a wealthy Hanoi capitalist.

Poet Thanh Phan recalled that after the liberation of Hanoi in 1954, his father returned to Hanoi, bringing with him the simple demeanor of the respected leader and his rich memories of him. The poet shared a story that his father was very fond of and often told to his children and grandchildren. During the Cao-Bac-Lang campaign, our army received help from the Chinese army. Being fluent in Chinese, Mr. Phan Hoa Sinh acted as an interpreter during a meeting between Uncle Ho and our leaders with Comrade Cong, an advisor of the Chinese army. After the meeting, Uncle called Mr. Sinh out and gently reminded him: “There is a sentence that you did not translate accurately, it should be translated as…”. Poet Thanh Phan clearly remembered his father’s words: “Uncle Ho was very modest. He knew Chinese but was very tactful, still letting his father translate without letting him know that he could speak Chinese.” The leader’s modesty made Mr. Sinh extremely respectful and deeply influenced his personality later on.

According to poet Thanh Phan, his father learned a lot from Uncle Ho during his time working with him in the resistance zone, especially his simple and humble style and lifestyle. The poet recalls that after his father returned, his mother took care of him wholeheartedly because she felt sorry for his hardships during the resistance years, always cooking delicious dishes for him. Yet he told his wife that he did not need to cook elaborate meals, just simple dishes like purslane, a familiar dish for him in the resistance zone.

From a capitalist with a big house, private car, private driver, and servants, Mr. Sinh has completely changed, becoming a minimalist in the true style of Ho Chi Minh.

To demonstrate the great influence of Uncle Ho, poet Thanh Phan showed us a picture of Mr. Phan Hoa Sinh which we thought was a picture of Uncle Ho. In the picture, Mr. Sinh is wearing a brown suit, with white hair and beard, watering plants, making anyone who sees it think of Uncle Ho.

Poet Thanh Phan said that the humility and simple lifestyle that his father learned from Uncle Ho were passed on to his grandchildren. After living in England for 8 years, he sponsored his parents to come live with him because he was worried about their old age and poor health. The poet’s three children, born and raised in England, but educated and influenced by their grandfather, all have a simple and modest style even when they have become successful people in England.

The patriotism of Mr. Phan Hoa Sinh, a capitalist who gave up material things to follow President Ho Chi Minh’s path of national liberation, inspired his son, creating the connection of poet Thanh Phan with his homeland and country. Living in England for nearly half a century, the poet still yearns for his roots, especially his hometown Hanoi. He has published many poetry collections about Hanoi, including the collection “Milk Flower Night” published by the National Culture Publishing House, Ministry of Culture and Information in 2004 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the Capital. Three poems in this collection are “Remembering Spring Hanoi”, “Hanoi – Milk Flower Night” and “Old Memories – Nostalgia”, which were set to music by musicians Tran Hoan and Thuan Yen. For decades until before the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Thanh Phan often returned to Vietnam, participating in many cultural and artistic programs and activities in his homeland.

Saying goodbye to the family of poet Thanh Phan, we deeply understand the patriotism, the simple and modest example of President Ho that inspired the children of Vietnam, was the driving force behind the strength of national unity, helping the country overcome all challenges in the cause of national liberation and independence.