I can say with great confidence that mum loved three things: her family, cats and the colour purple. Mum always wore the colour purple and her favourite flower was a purple hydrangea. If something were a shade of purple mum would buy it right away, however if it were a different colour she would need to go away and think about it for a week and come back to it. I think the love for cats is a genetic condition because my grandma loves cats, my auntie Linda loves cats and so do me and Emily. I’m sure this will be passed on for many more generations. My mum loved to celebrate everything as a family. Every year mum would wait until both Emily and I were back from university before she would buy and decorate a Christmas tree. One year the decorations were only allowed to be silver and purple. She even planned the summer holiday this year so that the family would come out to Canada to meet me so that we could share the experience together; and obviously because mum couldn’t bear to spend three months without me. Everything mum did was family orientated and she is the reason we are as close a family as we are today. We have so many amazing memories as a family, and have had so many adventures all over the world. I would be here for years trying to tell you about how much fun we’ve had together. My mum was the most caring person I know. When Emily suffered scalds to her legs, mum was by her side the entire time she was in hospital. And never left Emily’s side for the months of recovery that she had to spend at home. When I broke my little finger during my first year at university, mum came down for the surgery and stayed with me for a whole week, even though it wasn’t necessary. She always put us first and I’m so grateful to have had a mum as compassionate and as selfless as Joanne. Mum was our number one fan, even if she was terrified that we’d hurt ourselves because Emily and me seem to only like extreme sports. But she still came to support us, whether it was watching us from the top of the cliff edge when we went rock climbing, or even attempting to mountain bike with us. She came to as many of my rugby games as she could, and was probably more excited to watch both me and my sister play in the same team together. She would attempt to take pictures of us but they would usually turn out blurry because she got too excited. When mum came to watch me play the rugby varsity at Plymouth she made a T-shirt saying “Agro’s Mum” on it; a nickname I earned through rugby. And when I went to Kings College London, mum came to every game possible and she even became our unofficial team sponsor as she bought us a water bottle carrier and first aid kits. The Kings girls remember my mum fondly because she always brought us cakes or doughnuts for after games and the girls would say: “why is your mum so much nicer than you?” For some reason I always played much better when my mum was watching. Although she was terrified that I’d get hurt, always squealing on the sidelines when I got tackled, it was comforting to know she was there. And while it doesn’t seem like much, knowing that she was always there to support and encourage me was incredible. The girls at Kings College London have always referred to my mum as an honorary member. I’m happy to say that the rugby team have named an award after my mum, to be presented at the alumni games, to the player showing dedication, selflessness and adversity. I think mum would be honoured by this tribute, not only because these are the qualities that describe my mum perfectly, but to also know that her small contribution to the team made a big impact. I can say without a doubt that Emily’s successes and mine have been due to my mums never ending support and compassion. I know that mum is proud of me because she was so excited to celebrate my graduations and made each of them special. I know that she would’ve done the same for Emily had she gotten the chance. And it saddens me that we will not be able to make my mums graduation special for her because she deserves it. I can’t even contemplate all the special occasions that are yet to come that mum will not get to celebrate. I have had an amazing life filled with fun and incredible adventures and that is all down to my mum. Mum, you will be forever missed and loved always.