Thank you for the gift of my life and for my wonderful childhood growing up in Africa.

Relaxing at the Siavonga chalets at Kariba, Zambia, on one of our family holidays.

I have thought about you so much over the past two weeks and realised that I must have spent at least 90% of my life away from you - either at school or another continent altogether, so I never got to know you as well as I might have done and would have liked to have done. Having said that, you were still a major part of my life and I have lots of mental images of you to cherish.

I can see you with your head under the bonnet of the car, attempting to fix the latest malfunction and Mum not allowing us near you, because your language was less than perfect.

You were a wonderful Court of Final Appeal. Sometimes Mum would have good reason to ban me from going out but, after getting tired of my long face, she would tell me to phone you at work and ask if I could go - and you always said "Yes"!

I remember crying for 24 hours after seeing ‘Out of Africa’ because in the camping scene, they had a canvas wash basin exactly the same as the one we had the only time you took me out camping on my own.

I remember how you loved our parties in Hong Kong and how everyone admired you because you were such fun.

I remember how you laughed so much at the Christmas Day comedy shows on TV that you lost your breath and we were terrified that you were literally going to die laughing.

I always knew you would be there for me if I needed you and I never doubted for a moment how much you loved me and I always loved and will love, you.