Supervet Noel Fitzpatrick has reached out to the public with a touching tribute to his mother Rita who died last week aged 92.
He confided that he has been feeling alone in his grief, buoyed only by the memories of last Christmas day which he spent with his mum.
And he explained how Rita's physical health had deteriorated leaving her with her bead bowed, so he lay at her feet on the floor as she sat in her chair while they chatted the day through.
