I know that you will all have your own memories of mum, but these are just a few of my own.
As children, mum and dad would take my brother, sister and me on holidays to Devon and Cornwall.  Sometimes we were joined by her brother, Kenny, and his wife, Christine, and their family.  We would regularly go to Warrington to see our Uncle Stan and Auntie Eunice, and to Derbyshire to spend time with dad’s sister, Joy, her husband, Mike and their children.  We always had such lovely summers.
Christmas Days were always spent at our home with mum’s mum and dad. On Boxing Day we would then go to nan and grandad’s, and sometimes mum’s brother, Brian, and his wife, Barbara, would be there too.  How we managed to eat breakfast, dinner, tea and supper each day I will never know, but we always found time for a game of cards in the evening.
In the early part of our childhood, we lived very close to mum’s sister, Sheila and her husband, Robert.  We would be in and out of each other’s houses all the time.  We were also just round the corner from nan and grandad, and each Saturday afternoon mum would visit, and we would sometimes tag along too. 
We spent many happy days with mum’s sister, Dolly, and her husband, Tony, and their children, and with other aunts, uncles and cousins. Family was always very important to mum and dad.
When dad passed away, mum found it hard to cope and she never really got over losing him, but she did try and build a new life for herself beginning with her trips abroad with her lifelong friend, Sylvia.  They went to Majorca, Tenerife, Lanzarote and their last trip was to the quiet part of Ibiza.  I think if mum had been younger, she would have gone to the clubbing side of the island as she always did love a good party.  
Mum also had holidays in this country with her friend Ann, who she met when mum and dad went on their coach trips together.
We ourselves had many girls’ only trips, starting in Paris.  Mum was like a child in a sweet shop and she just loved everything, whether it was going to the top of the Eiffel Tower or tasting her first Cointreau Irish coffee.  Mum would often just burst into her impression of Quasimodo, giggling saying “the bells, the bells, they drive me crazy”.   Mum made us laugh so much, and helped make the trip such a fantastic and happy memory for us all.  We then went to Belgium and York - again, we had such a lovely time, and mum was just so happy to be with us. 
When abroad mum was always keen to try out her language skills.  When asked how she would like her steak cooked she would say “Well done” extremely slowly, and when asking for a cup of tea, she would gesture as if she was actually sipping a “cup of tea”, as if this made all the difference.  We all found it so funny, but I’m not sure that the waiters did. 
More recently Julie, Sarah, mum and I went on spa breaks to Winchester and Oxford, when Julie’s husband, Kevin, was more than happy to be our chauffeur. 
On each occasion, mum would don her cozzie even though she was in her 80’s, so that she could spend every moment with us - she was never one to miss out on anything!  If I close my eyes, I can still see mum in Winchester laughing as she was trying to get into the pool, and in Oxford bobbing around in the hydro pool, laughing so much that tears were rolling down her cheeks.  These were all such happy times for us and for mum.
When away, mum would always like to visit a Church to light candles for our dad, and for the loved ones she had lost.
Mum looked forward to our family get togethers to celebrate birthdays, Christmas, weddings, and special occasions, but she also enjoyed just going out for a coffee, lunch and shopping, and coming up for Sunday dinner. 
Mum did like a little tipple or two, and her favourites included martini and lemonade, Pimms, Sherry, Port and Lemon, and, at one time, she was even known to be a bit of “Lambrini” girl. 
I think you will see that mum was full of fun and very sociable, but she was also fiercely independent.  She loved her bungalow and her garden that my husband, Brian, kept neat and tidy for her, and mum was always pottering or cleaning something when the weather was good.  When it was raining she liked nothing better than to sit down and watch a good film or her Soaps with some chocolate or pick and mix. 
Mum was someone who did not mince her words, and she would often say it as it was.  Julie and I would sometimes say “Mum, you can’t say that” or “You didn’t say that did you”, to which mum would reply “Why not”, and so you always knew where you were with mum.
Mum had many catch phrases, some of which you may already know.  If you were feeling down, or something wasn’t going quite right, mum would always end by saying “Never Mind Aye”, a phrase that Julie, Sarah and I now use, and so many of our friends do too, which in itself is a lovely tribute to mum.  Somehow Mum would always know when I was ringing, and would answer the phone “Hello Duck”, and end the call by saying “Catch you later”.  She also had her own words for things, and so the TV remote will always affectionately be known to Brian and me as “The Mote”.   
When Stephen moved to Cyprus mum did miss him, and she looked forward to his calls so that she could hear how they were getting on; she was pleased that Stephen and Carol had settled well into their new life.  She looked forward to their trips back to the UK, but more recently, mum enjoyed her weekly video links with Stephen. 
She also loved her weekly catch ups with our Auntie Sheila and Auntie Christine, and Mum was so lucky to have such good friends, who always kept in touch with her.
After mum was diagnosed with her “complaint”, as she called it, I gave up work so that I could spend more time with mum.  She had so many different illnesses, but would say to us that she was not going anywhere, and we believed her.  Mum was a true fighter, and we thought she would be with us forever. 
Julie and I spent so many hours at the hospital sitting with mum, but more so, this year.  Mum always knew that we were there for her no matter what, and we would urge mum to put up just one more fight for us, but in the end she just had no more fight left in her.  She was just too tired.
Mum was so pleased when Sarah and Marc had their children, and I know that mum will be sad that she didn’t get to see her two great grandchildren, Emilia and Matilda, grow up into the beautiful young women they are destined to be. For me, I’m so sad that I only got to spend 61 years with my dear mum - quite simply this was just not enough time. 
I know that we will all miss mum very much – smiling, happy, kind, caring and loving, but above all, the best mum you could ever have. I know that mum loved us with all her heart, and we loved her right back just a much.  She was so very proud of us.
It’s going to be so hard not being able to just pick up the phone to speak to mum, or just pop round for a cup of tea. She was always so interested in what we were doing. There is going to be such a massive gap in my own life, as everything I did revolved around mum and was for mum, but deep down I know that mum is now free of pain and is at peace.  I take comfort in the knowledge that mum and dad are together again in Heaven, looking down on us, and are both happy and carefree.  They will be saying “Don’t be sad, we are right here with you and always will be”.  I know that one day we will all be together again, but until then, RIP our dear beautiful mum.  “Love you lots”.