Growing up in Bridgend, I had four brothers – Clive was my youngest. There was quite an age gap between us: I was 12 when Clive was born, so I took on something of a “second mum” role to him, helping my mother look after him. I remember rocking him to sleep in his pram regularly, while sitting on the stairs learning my French verbs.
When we were younger, Clive was quiet and bookish – he loved chess and played internationally, representing Wales as a teenager. One year, my oldest brother John was the Welsh senior chess champion and Clive was the Welsh junior champion. I was a very proud big sister. When I fell pregnant and had my first child, Dave, Clive became an uncle at 12; the exact same age gap we’d had, which felt fitting. He really loved being an uncle and my children loved him, too.
