My mother is Pamella Dorothy ("Mella"). She's not someone comfortable with computers and the Internet, and so has no online prescence. Here's a couple of recent shots of my mother with my father and Sebastian.

There are a few more pictures of my mother here.

We live in the village of Weir, not far from Bacup, in the hills of south east Lancashire, in an area known as the Rossendale Valley.

We moved to this area about 15 years ago. Prior to that, I had spent near 15 years living in various places in South Manchester.

A photo tour of our house and gardens can be found here.

In particular, we have a number of works of art by Julie Newdoll. Here's one of our favourites: Fountain of Youth, and indeed the very first one that we acquired. The orginal work (oil on canvas) is on display above the fireplace in our home bar. We also have Julie's work on display in the lounge and dining room.

You can find more information about Julie's work at the Brush with Science web site.

The surname Hopkins means 'Son of Young Robert', a direct translation of the old English version: Hobbe-kyn. The family motto is Inter Primos, which means 'Among the First'. The motto was used as the name for a limousine hire company my father ran for many years - Inter Primos Chauffeur Service.

Here's a picture of the family coat-of-arms - this crest has hung in various houses for many decades, including nearly twenty years in Wivelsfield Hall.

BLAZON: Sable on a chevron between three pistols or, as many roses gules.
CREST: A castle in flames proper.