Welcome to Mum's (that's 'Jean' to you) website, celebrating 70 years of what, as you read on you will see, has been an amazing life so far - with a lot more living left to do yet! As her many messages prove, she is a loved, well-respected, warm, caring, intelligent, witty woman who has touched many lives in many ways. Professionally, she has achieved more than she would ever have thought possible while she sat at her typewriter at Theatre Workshop at the age of 16. Personally, she has been a loving daughter, sister and wife, and an amazing mother and a wonderful grandmother. She's the person you want to call when things go well and when they don't. She's the person you want to be there to cheer you on and there to quietly support you should you need it. As a mother she's helped and supported us to do so much, we wouldn't know where to begin.

But if there's one frustrating thing about Jean, it's that she can't see all these things. So that's why we decided to launch this website; to let her know, not only how much we love and appreciate her, but how much she is appreciated by her family, her friends and the people she works with.

We couldn't let our contribution to the site appear without some of our own memories, or the re-telling of well-worn family legends. Such as the day Mum left baby Mike outside the Co-op in his pram - not once, but twice according to her sister, Helen; how her lack of confidence as a driver led her to plot a route that allowed her to drive all the way from London to Nottingham without once turning right; how to this day she still puts peas on her 39-year-old daughter's plate because she forgets that Rachel doesn't eat, and never has eaten, peas; how Margate police still talk about the night she was at the rear of a convoy traveling to a circus so slowly, we could have walked there quicker; how she learned the names of all the West Ham players in order to have something to talk to young Mike about; how Mum's love of fresh air led her to force us to sit in the hut on the gantry at Palm Bay beach, Cliftonville, come rain or shine, and enjoy it whether we liked it or not; how she would spend many, many hours role- playing with Rachel's imaginary friends. There are more, many more, but we'd better let you get on and read everyone else's memories and good wishes.

Many thanks to Rachel's brother-in-law, Ian, for all his hard work helping us put this site together - you're a star!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MUM!!!!!

Mike and Rachel

If you'd like to add a message to Jean's website, please email it to Rachel:racheybabes@bigfoot.com