Son's mission to care for ailing parents in Newick sparks exciting home business plan

Daniel Humphrey, 34, was living in Hertfordshire, but moved back to his parents’ home in Newick last year when his mum was diagnosed with terminal cancer and could no longer take care of his dad.

He said: “For the past year I have been looking after my parents. My mum was diagnosed with gallbladder cancer last October. She died this September. It was quick and aggressive.

“It was quite a shock for my dad, he had not just lost his wife, he had lost his best friend and his carer, who enabled him to live life and pushed him on.

“Dad suffered an accident at Bowles near Crowborough 13 years ago while working as a manager of a ski slope. He did everything outdoors. It was a difficult time – I was at university at the time.”

Daniel gave up his head of sales role in Hertfordshire to move back home. He struggled to get a new job as he never knew what hours he could commit to.

He said: “I still wanted to work, but I knew that my situation would make it really difficult to get a regular job, particularly as mum was having stints in hospital, keeping me there for days at a time.

“It was during one of these stays that I decided to start a business myself, so that I could fit my work around my family’s needs.

“I had been thinking of an idea for a premium spirits subscription club, and chose to use time in hospital when mum was recovering from operations or having chemotherapy to do research. At the beginning of this year I took the plunge and launched The Summerton Club.”

The Summerton Club delivers an aged spirit to members every month. Daniel works with master-distillers across the world bringing members ‘something different’ and something that is not available in the UK.

He began thinking of the idea when he struggled to buy a ‘fantastic aged spirit’ for his dad, that could be delivered to his door every month.

He said: “I wanted it to be a different bottle every month, so there would be an element of surprise and excitement every month, and the bottles needed to be something you wouldn’t get in the supermarket.

“I thought there must be someone doing it, after all there was the Craft Gin Club in the UK and some clubs doing exactly what I wanted in the US, but after a long search I found nothing.”

The Summerton Club has 100 members. Daniel hopes to have 500 soon. Visit www.summertonclub.com.

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