Mum had many qualities, and a couple of them was a very giving and understanding person towards charities.  Given that mum had Sjogrens and did her own diagnosis because there is a lack of knowledge about the condition, we thought it a good idea for any donations on the 22/Feb could go to the BSSA, and also thinking about the future any sponsored walks, champagne tasking, swimming with sharks or wing-walking as a family this would be a good and fitting place for our funds.

Thank you ALL very much for the kind donations received so far, mum would have been rather surprised and warmed by your generosity.

With lots of love xxx  

Mums Story:

Mum, to all of us was something different and brought different qualities into our lives.  She was a wife, mum, nanny, sister, aunt, cousin and friend.  Each one of us receiving the tenderness, care and time that we needed, when we needed it.  To capture who mum was to all of us would take a lot of time, but one thing is for sure, to mum, we were all her family and mum loved us all unconditionally.

Mum was one of 7, and her mother was one of 17, so the family was large, a typical catholic family you could say.  A lot of our family are spread far and wide across the UK and overseas, but she never forgot any one, she was very proud of the family and loved everyone, mum never forgot a birthday or Christmas.

Mum also had friends far and wide and she would keep in touch with them also by letter or a phone call, and upon visits would usually take a bunch of flowers, she rarely went empty handed.  

From a young lady in the 1950s, to early motherhood in the 70s and 80s mum had a busy and full family life, and not just with myself and Gavin, but also her younger sisters, Diane and June, who lived with us for a number of years after the death of their beloved mum.  The love of mums life was of course Dad, he was her best friend, lover and husband and father of her children and she missed him every single day since 2003.  Mum and Dad were hard working, beautiful kind people who you could depend on and were always the first people you called if you needed help or advise, and they never hesitated to help where they could.  An incredible team, who taught us so much about how to respect and treat the people in our life.

Of course the other great love and joy in mum's life was her grand children, Natalie, Mia, Luke and Grace, whom she loved completely and taught them all the things she did with my brother and I but of course, with the occasional lapses of the rules if it meant having fun or a laugh, mum could be naughty on occasions but in a very sweet innocent way, a side of her that she relished showing to her grandchildren.

Embarrassment was not a word in mums vocabulary, when we used to get embarrassed by some of her antics as youngsters, she would say, there is no point being a wall flower and don't worry about what other people are thinking, no one is watching or interested.  Mum certainly didn't shy away from life and grabbed every experience with both hands.

There are so many memories we could talk about, as mum was involved with so much, and a part of so many peoples lives right up to the last.  Its only when you look back over the years you realise just how much we did with mum, and mum did with all of you, the fun we had and oh the experiences,...as young children, teenagers and adults we would have many adventures with mum, either on holiday or at home, but holidays were often the catalyst of many an adventure, usually because mums genuine curiosity and interest in people and life, got us into some very funny situations, and Dad would remain forever patient in these situations, and me and Gavin would laugh, enjoy the fun, suffer the embarrassment and learn another life experience.

 So thank you mum...from the very bottom of our hearts for being you, you were so many things, engaging, thoughtful, loving, fun, adventurous, generous and forgiving, like Dad, you will leave a massive void in our lives but we will continue to do what you taught us, appreciate the little things, buy flowers for each other, be kind, be thoughtful, and most of all love and appreciate each other, and so its "wagons roll" mum onto the next adventure, as I know both you and Dad will always be with us...