Elizabeth Day

So he was my security, along with my parents and my sister.

But Thomas would be in bed with me every single night.

And then when I went to secondary school, I didn't have a very good time.

And Thomas helped me through that as well.

And I ended up leaving that school halfway through the academic year.

And I got a scholarship to a boarding school in England.

And every single trip I ever went on, I would pack him too.

And I remember I would often pack him at the very top of the bag or I'd have him poking out of my rucksack because I wanted him to be able to breathe and to see the world and to experience the trip.

And I didn't want him to feel just like another object because for me, obviously, he was like one of my greatest friends and still is.

And so he was with me through all of that.

Right up to university, he would be on my bed.

And then I think, yes, when I got married the first time, I was like, I think it's time to put Thomas elsewhere.

But to this day, he sits on my dressing table in our bedroom.

So he's still there sort of watching over me.

It was a curious mix because obviously as a child you don't think to question where you find yourself because you don't have enough agency.

So on the one hand, we lived in beautiful countryside.

So we lived about half hours drive from Derry.

Mm-hmm.

And that was a really sort of outdoorsy childhood.

Like I would go on cycle rides on my own for hours.