How do you sum up such a wonderful lady in five minutes? I’ll have a go.

Mum was born in East Yorkshire. Despite living in the south since she married in 1951, she remained a Yorkshire girl at heart. As they say, you can take the girl out of Yorkshire…

I certainly grew up convinced that Yorkshire was the place to be. Mum was proud of her Yorkshire heritage, loving pretty much anything or anyone who came from Yorkshire – cakes from Betty’s, the iconic tearooms where Mum and Dad had their wedding reception, and pork pies are just two examples. Fairly recently, she had been chatting with one of our church choir members; when I told her he came from Sheffield, her comment was, ‘I knew he was nice!’

Mum was a carer, in the widest sense. She cared for us as children, of course, and for my father in the last years of his life, but she also looked after a friend’s son, regularly entertaining him after school until his mother got home from work. She would look after the two children of her lovely neighbours, Indira and Nat, in Hemel Hempstead, and her kitchen was an ‘open house’ for various young people. Her English Breakfasts were legendary. She once received a Mother’s Day card, with the verse: ‘It’s just as well folks can’t choose their mothers, or you’d have more children than all of the others’. So true.

However, behind Mum’s warm and cosy exterior lay not only a loving and generous heart, but also a keen and feisty intellect. Her headmistress had wanted her to stay at school and go on to train as a teacher, but Mum, at 16, had other ideas: her best friends were leaving school and she, too, wanted to be out in the world. She had a good head for figures and worked in Martins Bank, in York, for 9 years, the only female member of staff – good on you, Mum!

And goodbye to school did not mean goodbye to education: in her 50s, she passed A Levels in English, French and Classical Civilisation, thoroughly enjoying the stimulation and cameraderie of the classes. The knowledge certainly stuck: despite her increasing dementia, she was finishing off Shakespeare quotes in crossword clues just a few weeks ago.

Mum loved trips to the theatre and concerts (she was often seen at Strode) and, in her early days in Hemel, did some acting herself. I remember proudly, aged 7, watching her play the leading lady in a 1960s comedy drama. She relished the unusual, the quirky and the witty, delighting in word play and the poetry of Matt Harvey, Ogden Nash and Hilaire Belloc. She loved the satire of Gilbert and Sullivan, and enjoyed much other music too, particularly Vaughan Williams and the music we are hearing today.

She also learned to drive in her 50s, but displayed less obvious flair for that. She once met me at Hemel station in her car and took me on a very circuitous route home. When I asked why, she admitted that she didn’t like turning right.

We shall all remember Mum for her warmth, generosity and her sense of fun. She adored her family and supported us in all we did. She was overjoyed at the arrival earlier this year of Joshua, her first great-grandchild, and photos of him were guaranteed to make her chuckle.

Mum loved outings and occasions, and dressing up for them – Sunday lunches at the Abbey Tea Rooms, tea and cakes at any tea rooms you care to mention, and her grand 90th birthday family party, which started an annual tradition: these are just examples. She cared deeply about us all and her joie de vivre was infectious.

I shall end with a tale to show how Mum’s positive attitude could turn disaster into fun. Five years ago, Stuart and I were driving Mum up to Yorkshire. It was a hot day, and the traffic was so heavy that it took us 5 hours to reach the M42. Then the car broke down, fortunately near a slip road. Was Mum as downhearted as we were? Not a bit! Fuelled by her customary stash of snacks, she chortled, ‘This is better than sitting at home with the telly!’ Her joy was complete when Darren the RAC Man offered her and me a lift in his truck to the nearest Tesco, where there were loos. Mum loved an adventure, and the ‘nice young man’ was a bonus!

As young Rob put it, the world has lost a gem. Well, it has, but she will continue to sparkle in our hearts for ever.