It’s my brother’s birthday today. He died over ten years ago. It’s weird how quickly time whizzes by. Before long I will be the age he was when he died, there is just something sadder about that somehow.

I’ve spent the day trying not to be maudlin, but instead have been playing the music he loved – the music he taught me to love – Beatles, Bowie, Bolan, Led Zeppelin. Unfortunately He also liked Gary Glitter and Mud but we won’t go there.

My 4 year old is a bit perplexed about the whole thing.

“How can it be someone’s birthday if they’re dead?” she asked. “They’re not getting any older…”

I suppose she has a point. While I’m getting older, he will remain forever stuck at 40 – the age that he predicted he would die by.

He wasn’t perfect by any means. He made many mistakes and I have so many things that I wish I could say to him, if only I had the chance.

One thing I would tell him was how sorry I was for not understanding him better.

Happy Birthday Bruv – rock those clouds for me

This was a post for the #dosomethingyummy campaign, inspired by the “why family is important to you” question.