As Mum’s first child I'd like to share some memories of a few firsts in my life. My first trip to the cinema, or the pictures as it was back then, was with Mum and it was to see the Beatles film "A Hard Day’s Night." I’d be four or five. It was a big exciting adventure for me but I hadn’t quite worked out that what I was watching wasn’t real life. I was distraught at the scene where John makes out he’s gone down the plughole with the bathwater and I thought he had actually drowned. Mum had to gently explain it was only a story and not to worry there would be plenty more Beatles songs to come. She wasn’t wrong there! My first meal out in a proper restaurant was with Mum and Dad on my 13th birthday, something which became a bit of a tradition as each of us reached that age. I remember I had prawn cocktail to start and was allowed a glass of wine with my steak which made me feel very grown up indeed. A very happy birthday. My first holiday abroad was a school trip to Paris for a week. It had looked at one time that we might not have been able to afford for me to go but Mum was absolutely determined I should, so she took a part time job specifically to pay for the trip. Quite how she found the time and energy I do not know. After I passed my driving test my first long drive was to Manchester for a football match, a mid-week game with no trains back that night. I had no car, but no problem, Mum lent me hers, quite a leap of faith considering I was a new driver and had barely been on a motorway before. I don’t think the thought of saying no to me even entered her head. I remember so well the first time Mum saw my two boys, strapping lads now but then tiny babies. She was so proud of me and them, as she was with every single addition to the family. I never had one conversation with Mum without at some point her asking how the boys were and what had they been up to. In later years she would normally tell me one or the other, often both had been texting her or putting something on facebook for her to see, she loved hearing from them. I’d tell you about my first big row with Mum but honestly we never had one. I think that says it all about the love she had for me and I for her. I’ll miss you Mum, more than I can say. xxx