Spending quality time with your family means something different to every parent and child, whether its long hikes together or watching the World Cup on the sofa. For one mother and daughter, clubbing is their favourite way to have fun with each other.
Vee Roberts started using clubbing as a way to blow off steam when she went to university between her studies, working and being a mum. The 43 year old had her daughter, Roshan, when she was just 17 and now the pair go partying together - even abroad and to festivals.
The duo have been to events starting at 3am and Vee claims she's' even more of a party animal than her daughter.
She said: "I got to go to parties with my friends, and that’s always been my escapism. I’ve never been into drinking, drugs and rock and roll, but I like a good party.
"I think my daughter has inherited that a little bit, but she’s not as wild as her mum."
Vee became a mum at 17 and again at 19 while studying at London Metropolitan University for a degree in Brand Marketing and Communications. She began her studies in 1999, deferred a year to have her second child, and successfully graduated with a 2.1 in 2003.
The brand and marketing practitioner from Surrey was able to complete her degree and still enjoy a party with help from her family. "I have two amazing aunties on my mum’s side, and they really helped me get through my studies" Vee shared.
"They massively helped me get through the weekend too. So, I could study and work, and at the weekends, I would go out. My aunties helped me because they saw how hard I worked and studied. They had the children overnight, and it helped me have that balance."
She added: "Even now, I’ve got two small children and my mum and my other auntie – they help me quite a lot because I don’t go out nearly as much anymore.
"But when I first started going out, I was able to do week-long holidays. That’s where I first fell in love with the Caribbean. I went away for 10 days at a time – I went to Barbados, Antigua and Amsterdam for raving holidays.
"Now I’m doing it with my daughter, which is lovely."
Vee's ex-partner, and Roshan's father, introduced her to the clubbing scene as he worked in events in Ayia Napa from 1995. She said: "My background has always been in branding and marketing. So I’ve always had a passion for promoting and ticket sales. So that’s where I kind of found my feet.
"I wasn’t always able to go to them because I looked after the children. But because he always had events, I’d always have free tickets, VIP access, and so on. So I was able to experience that side of things quite early."
Vee's love of clubbing was longstanding and when her daughter went to Bournemouth University she also discovered a love of partying. When the now 26 year old would come home, she would invite her mum out with her friends and their bond grew even stronger.
The pair have been to festivals abroad, clubbing in London and on boat parties but Vee draws the line at a rave party in Ibiza. "I love the music, Gok Wan and stuff like that, but I don’t think I could do Ibiza with her and her mates. That’s slightly overboard." she said.
One of Vee’s favourite memories with her daughter is when they went to the Antigua and Barbuda Carnival. She shared: "This summer, we went to a festival, which was absolutely hilarious because we were stuck in a queue and the queue was massive.
"And I had to drag our way to the front. My daughter likes it when I do all of that. We got to the front quite quickly, and we had a really good time, and that was with three of her friends.
"The carnival is a five-day event, and the penultimate event is a big party that starts at three in the morning. They throw paint, you get water bombed, we had water guns, and we were in absolute stitches."
Vee says that going out with her daughter has brought them even closer, adding: "She’s started asking me for advice on what to wear. That makes me feel good.
"We even call each other ‘besties’ now. I do feel 43, but I can still party. I’m quite chuffed when Roshan asks me to go out with her."
And she loves people’s reactions when they find out she is Roshan’s mum, as many struggle to believe she's a parent.
She said: "People react to it and say, ‘Oh my god, I can’t believe that’s your mum’, and they make comments about my skin because I’ve got really good skin.
"I’ve started to embrace that compliment now I’m over 40. Even bouncers are shocked, not because she looks old, but because my hair is quite long and I am pretty on-trend.
"I don’t dress provocatively or anything like that, but I will show a bit of leg and wear bright colours, so I’m not mumsy. She’s helped me bring that side out of me because I used to always be wearing black or always wearing a particular style of dress.
"We’re going out this weekend, it’s just going to be her and me, and I know we’re going to have a good time. You know, she’s a product of me, so we’re going to!"
