Having had a quiet break in Ireland I feel stronger and more refreshed. I am now ready to write about something which has caused me very great pain this year and it resulted from my DNA tests to find a bone marrow donor.

In these politically correct times you have to read between the lines if you are told your DNA is “odd”. In other words, it is not common in the UK. As I am fair-skinned with blue eyes, this must mean that there is some European ancestry of which I am not aware. I felt sure I knew about my ancestry as I had copies of the family trees from both sides of the family.

I felt convinced I knew about my mother’s family coming from Scotland and Denmark, although there were fewer records than on my father’s side. At first I thought about writing to my paternal cousins to see if they had found out anything but all the time I knew I wouldn’t do that, I would have to talk to my mother – she was the one who would know.