A Mother's Story (28 page)

The eldest of four, I was born and raised on a farm in Nottinghamshire, England,
with fields for a backyard and farmyard animals for pets. Here I am with Nanna and
Grandpa Atkin on the day of my Christening in 1962.

Mum and Dad with my little brother Robert (left) and me in the front garden of our farm cottage.

Pretending to play the piano with my brothers James (left) and Robert.

Mum on holiday at the beach. She died suddenly aged thirty-seven in 1968 when I was just six.

Smiling for the camera, aged around four.

Me (second from right) with my friends at St Joseph's Convent in Lincoln, which I attended until I was sixteen.

Working as a nanny in Austria (here aged twenty-one) gave me the travel bug, and a few years later I made the trip to Australia.

Soon after I arrived in Melbourne in the 1980s I met Leonie. We've been friends ever since. Here we are enjoying ourselves at a fancy-dress party.

On 20 June 2002 I gave birth to my beautiful boy, Luke Geoffrey Batty. Luke's
dad, Greg Anderson, wasn't my partner at the time but he was always part of Luke's
life.

Luke with my darling Nanna Atkin just months before she died, aged 100.

Luke aged six months in a Liverpool United jersey, being initiated into family footy fandom – with my brothers Terry, Robert and James during a visit to the UK.

With Leonie, giving Luke his first haircut.