“Dad:Don’t be facetious, which by the way is one of the few words in the English language with all the vowels in the correct order. No, we were all very anxious.It was then we knew that having a baby girl, having you, completed our little family.In this family no one is lonely because we’re always there for each other, the four corners that keep our square whole, each connected to and looking out for each other equally.You are a vital part of that.You and your brother are our life , our reason and our happiness.We adore you both and we feel blessed to have you and to witness you grow into the remarkable young people you are becoming.You are both so impressive! Truly you are our world, our joy. Never forget what a treasure you are, and if your faith in that ever wobbles, have a look in the mirror and have confidence in what you see. You are a rare thing, an uncommon beauty, a dazzling, exquisite, splendid young woman. Look! You must know it’s true, you’re a corker. How lucky any boy would be to have you on his arm. They should fight tournaments to win your affections, you utterly deserve it and more than that, you deserve the very best. Don’t think for one second you should settle for other people’s rejects. You are the princess, you are the prize, so be choosey and take your time. you decide how, when and where, not them . They will wait. Of course they will. Who wouldn’t wait for someone so priceless ? There is no one better.Know this:if anything ever happened to you, Moo, our lives would fall apart, we would be devastated and this family would never be happy again. So, you must take care of yourself, you must guard against danger. When you are out of this house it is up to you to protect yourself, your reputation and your dignity. We love you and we need you.

OK. That’s all. You can go now. And yes, you can come home late, 1am at the outside, understand?

Me: Yeah……Thanks,Dad.

We had a big hug and off I went to the party, feeling ten foot tall and fabulous in my hot pants. Mark did come to talk to me that night, but I wasn’t interested. He wasn’t really good enough, to be honest ………..

My dad gave armour that night and I have worn it ever since. I could never quite buy the bit about being the best, but I do believe that I am worth something”