"When my brother and I would fight my mother stopped us by saying, "My father always told me that's how wars start". We would both run outside to see if there were bombs falling. That was my first glimpse of our mother's background.
We had lots of love and freedom growing up in Pyle. We always felt a sense of belonging even though my father was English and my mother was Spanish.
Our home was filled with the familiar sounds of my mother singing "Volare" and "Que Será Será". She had style and I always thought she looked glamorous. Mum would talk fast and loud with her lovely Spanish accent and contagious laughter.
Dad was quiet, encouraging, patient and relaxed with a sharp dry wit. He was our rock and mum's gallant hero - her Clark Gable.
But as well as all the fun, there were serious discussions and debates on world affairs and politics. My mother would argue her points heatedly at the news reader whilst we were having our tea.
As I grew older I learnt more about her suffering as a consequence of the Spanish civil war. When she was 11, her family escaped to France where, three years later, they were detained in a concentration camp.
My parents tried to shelter us from these horrors so we could enjoy the secure home and freedom that she had lost.
When mum was 79, and even though she wasn't at all well, she felt compelled to attend the march against the invasion of Iraq - she told me it was the least she could do to honour her father and late husband's pacifist beliefs.
I still live in the Pyle area with my husband. Our children grew up there and now live nearby.
We hope their lives have also been guided by the same sense of home, belonging and fun that I was given by my parents."
