Mothers as role models.

Both my mum and dad were kind and gentle people. I can't say as they were role models as such. And if they were I completely ignored their influence and turned into a vile teenager! We had a very normal, Catholic upbringing. Not much money but the table was always loaded with food. As is my table - so perhaps they did influence me after all!

Yes definitely a role model for me. I learnt from her how to be a warm. loving mother. She herself was badly treated by her parents - my cold offhand grandparents, and she bridged that gap.

My dad was a gentle soul but dominated by my bossy mum. Mum thought I was like dad's family, bit dreamy, artistic etc., but I think she always forgot that I was her daughter.

It's been my mum's nature that has helped me through the bad times. I haven't inherited much of it (thank goodness) but enough to keep going and to stand up to her when I was a teenager.

Thank goodness for aunties. I had two of them (dad's sisters) they were lovely very gentle and kind, always patient, although one aunt had 5 children. They were quite eccentric in many ways, but one auntie drove her own car (1950s) and they both were artists and one of them wrote poetry and had something read out on Woman's Hour.

Of course mum disapproved of them very strongly and thought they were quite mad, but their mild disapproval of her helped me such a lot and let me see there were other ways of coping with life.

She did often make me fall about laughing when she was being particularly outrageous and I do miss that. The manager of the local co-op who was her sworn enemy for some reason - used to hide when she came into the shop.

One of my aunties always called mum (that mummy of yours.) which let me know in a gentle way that she did not approve of her.

Both my parents loved us all as children, and we absolutely knew we were loved....I think I have done this with my children, too. It's very important.

I would not emulate my mother in one way, though. My father was a heavy drinker and for the last 15-20 years of his life he was what anyone would term an alcoholic. This was very difficult to cope with, and he was a total pain. She found this very shameful and embarrassing, and said to me once, 'if you were married to him, I bet you would have left him by now,' and I said 'too right, I would have!' I think she stayed because of convention, really, and trying to keep up appearances. I think this is so sad. When he died, it was something of a liberation for her (she's still alive now).

My mother was disabled from birth but never let it stop her doing what she wanted to do. She went to agricultural college, married a farmer had two kids, helped on the farm, sewed all our clothes, knitted our socks and jumpers, cooked, laid carpet, decorated including wall paper. She was re-upholstering a chair the day I was born her neighbour told me. She rode a bike, danced, taught me how to use the underground in London and much more. She was a marvel and now she is very frail so I spend time looking after her.