‘But you have money to spend now, Mum! You’re not that old, you still look pretty good. Shopping is what women do these days, Mum, they like to keep themselves looking nice. Lana looks fantastic for her age, she dresses so well that sometimes people think that her and Josephine are sisters!’

Hannah laughed in derision. This was too much for her now. ‘So who thinks that then, eh? Did this person happen to have a white stick and a fucking dog by any chance? Sisters! Now I’ve heard fecking everything.’

Michael pushed his plate away angrily, knocking over his glass of Guinness in the process and revealing the bitterness he tried so desperately to keep in check.

‘Do you know what, Mum? Josephine’s right about you. You are so fucking negative. No matter what she tries to do, no matter what she says, you never give her a chance. She got tickets for that West End show you said you wanted to see, and you turned her down flat. You actually sneered at her as if anyone wanting to go was a fucking moron.’

Hannah shook her head in self-righteous denial. ‘You are wrong there, son, I’m telling you.’

‘I was there, Mum, remember? I saw the way you reacted and I swallowed my knob because Josephine asked me to. I was all for having a fucking straightener once and for all. I tell you now, Mum, if it had been left to me, this would have been over a long time ago.’

Hannah was watching her son wide-eyed. She was aware that she had to try and rein herself in, but it was too late. Michael was so angry and disappointed in her, she had no option but to let him vent his spleen.