Today is the first anniversary of my dad’s death. His life story continues to be an inspiration to me and really that’s what keeps his soul alive still, despite his body having passed on. He grew up in poverty in the Glasgow Gorbals (notorious slum tenements) with a violent alcoholic father. By 14 he was a convicted cat burglar with a 2yr suspended sentence and later on youth detention. But somehow he had the determination to change his life around. He was bright, so he worked hard at school, got himself to Glasgow university to study biochemistry and then medicine and eventually qualified as a psychiatrist. After a while he decided that he wanted to dedicate himself to helping disadvantaged and emotionally troubled kids, so he started working as the resident psychiatrist in several of the children’s homes in South London. It wasn’t all plain sailing and sometimes it was challenging for us as a family. He had a lot to work through. But he was passionate about family and toge...