Picture the scene – you’re all out celebrating a family birthday in a restaurant when a waiter brings out a dessert topped with sparklers. The trouble is, it’s not for your table.
‘Where’s my cake?’ your birthday girl rages, and you beckon staff to help before the roof blows off. This is all the more mortifying because, while this birthday girl may be acting like a toddler on the verge of a tantrum, she’s actually 55 today, and she’s your mum. In fact, she was my mum.