I know four women currently fighting various forms of cancer and all are doing so with determination, grace and humour, yet still finding time to be thoughtful friends.

She loved dancing, she loved prosecco, she had a great sense of humour and she was always turned out beautifully. For me, a working class girl, she showed me what was possible if you had drive, determination and wit.

My mother was still telling me about Mrs Barbour’s Army into the 1970’s. My mother was not an educated woman, but she was a clever one, and she knew what was right and what was not.

She has worked all her life, to the best of my knowledge she never had any time off sick and rarely missed a day (even when my brother or I were ill). She strives to remain independent as she gets older and her memory fades.