Dabbing paint on to the wall in careful strokes, I watched in awe as my mum Mandy, then 42, created an amazing Batman mural for my brother Jake, then 10, on his bedroom wall. She’d been sawing and smoothing down wood all morning to make a Batmobile-shaped headboard for his bed to match. ‘It’s spectacular!’ I cried when it was finally ready. I was 14, and I really admired Mum’s creativity. She had raised us on her own, yet went out of her way to make our little home fun and exciting, and always on a budget.
‘I WAS DESPERATE FOR A PLACE OF MY OWN’
Over the years, her practical, can-do
