My mum died five years ago today, so here's a couple of memories. She'd been a war child, so hated to waste food. When she had a new hip fitted, she asked the doctor if she could take the old bone home for the dog.

When I stood for Parliament and was on the radio with the other candidates, Mum rang up and said 'I agree with John O'Farrell'

When my rabbit jumped out of an upstairs window, the vet looked at the two broken legs and said 'You could get a new rabbit for 50p.' And Mum looked at me and said 'No, we'll pay for the operations please.' Poor rabbit hopped around the garden with two plaster casts all summer.

When I was 17, Mum got me tickets to go and see the Secret Policeman's Ball, the Amnesty International Benefit. She read the notes about their work in the programme I'd brought home, became an @amnesty activist and left them £30k in her will.

Anyway, she had a lot of fun and did a lot of good, and that's my definition of a life well-lived.