I was 12 at the time and my great uncle Jimmy was dying of cancer. He had been bed bound for almost four months and was given a total of five months to live.

Uncle Jimmy's bedroom window backed onto his neighbours back garden and there was a tree right outside the window. The top of the tree came just up to the middle of his bedroom window. It was Christmas at the time when he was very ill and his neighbour had put lights on this tree so that my uncle could look at them from his bed. His neighbour called the light on the top "Jimmy's Light" in honour of my uncle.

Jimmy passed away on Christmas Eve with most of his family sitting with him around his bed. At the exact moment he died, Jimmy's light went out. Nobody was worried about this or frightened because he had a great sense of humour and we all believed he somehow put out the light himself as a final way of saying goodbye.