Waterlooville grandmother will be very sadly missed | Cheryl Gibbs

It’s usually superficial and you’re never really in each other’s lives as such, but the connection is still nice.

There’s one friend from school, Lorraine Blackburn who, since Facebook changed how we all communicate and stay in touch with, that I’ve always tried to stay connected too.

I pay particular attention to what Lorraine posts, mostly because she’s an amazing person whose been through more than what one person ever should.

She lost her son Owen at 12 weeks after he was born severely premature and died of bowel ischemia in September 2009.

Lorraine inspired us all by helping with the success of fundraising for the Ickle Pickles charity that helps support babies born prematurely.

Now I have my own daughter, Harley, who was born nearly a month early, the efforts that Lorraine and her family went through to turn her son’s death into something positive is also nothing short of incredible.

Lorraine always had the support of her mum Joan Emms who played a really active role in her family’s lives.

She helped Lorraine look after her daughter Luna, and her other grandchildren Reggie and Abbie, but also looked after her partner Pete until he passed away.

Joan threw herself into fundraising for Ickle Pickles, purchasing lifesaving equipment for premature and sick babies up and down the country.

It’s with enormous sadness that I announce that Joan passed away on July 21 from bowel ischemia, the same condition that little Owen died from.

Joan was full of life, a happy soul and proud mother and grandmother and I’m beyond words for Lorraine and her family, but I pay tribute a wonderful woman, who lived in Waterlooville most of her life and cared for everyone around her.

Joan, you’ll be missed. But give little Owen a cuddle and a kiss from everyone here.

Surely I’ve lost a few pounds through sweat in this heat?

I’m what you’d call a sun worshipper – the hotter the better.

However, more than 30C does not bode well with a six-month-old baby.

The poor thing doesn’t understand why she feels like she’s melting and why she ends up dripping with sweat when we give her a cuddle.

She’s my little mini sweaty Betty and it’s not nice for either of us. It’s been roasting so we gave Harley the one and only fan for her room.

We haven’t been pointing it directly at her but it’s enough so she feels a light breeze, while we slowly cook from the inside in the room next door.

I think I’ve lost a few pounds purely from cooking inside and out.

There’s got to be an upside from feeling like you’ve slept in a sauna.

Will Oprah pop round to Meg and Harry’s for a cuppa?

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry jumped ship and quit the UK for a new life in the States and if their new home is anything to go by, they’re doing okay.

It’s a whopping $14.7m mansion in Santa Barbara, California boasting a wine cellar, arcade, library, tennis courts and pools.

For anyone concerned about Harry’s transition to the US, don’t worry – he may have given up one palace, but he has a new one in the sun.

And if he gets bored he can ask one of his A-List neighbours Oprah Winfrey or Ellen Degeneres to join him for a cuppa.

Apparently the pad has its own tea house.

You can take the boy out of England, but you can’t take England out of the boy!