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Carol Hunt

We’re all going to be old some day, if we’re lucky, so why do we treat our elderly population so badly? (Stock image)

Respecting your elders is the really important work

I don't think I'm alone in still thinking of the family house where I grew up as 'home'. It's the place where myself and siblings still meet, where we have extended family barbecues and parties, where we send our kids to stay when we go away for a weekend, and where, most importantly, our mother is. Or at least, that's where she is when she's not trekking round the world, or helping her kids out, or bringing her grandson to see Barcelona play Celtic (which she did last week), or doing voluntary work, or all the many things which make our lives richer.

'Lucky': Carol Hunt with her daughter Sophie and son Oscar when they were young

'I became what I had always swore I wouldn't - a stay-at-home-mum'- Carol Hunt on taking unexpected time out to raise her children

Of course, it was never supposed to be like this. When I got married - on February 29, leap year, like a proper feminist - myself and the current Mr Hunt agreed that if we ever had children, it would be a 50-50 split. There would be none of this traditional nonsense about Mammy being the one to give up her career and financial future purely because she was the one in possession of a womb.