I WAS very saddened to learn of the passing of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

If you take away the fact that he was a Prince, a Duke and married to our Queen, what you’re left with is a family man, a husband, a father, grandfather, great-grandfather and a friend who was greatly valued and a much-loved member of the Royal family.

I am very sorry for his family’s loss.

It is sad when anyone passes away from any family but as a key member of the Royal family he was a great example to us all of how you can be of public service and devote yourself to helping others.

You need only look at The Duke of Edinburgh Awards to see the countless lives he has assisted. My son, for one, did his Duke of Edinburgh and gained so much from doing so.

That is just one, but a huge example of what character he had. His duty to his country and his public service was unrivalled.

So, this week I would like to humbly pay my respects to Prince Philip. Our thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathies are with The Queen and the Royal family at this very difficult and sad time. May he rest in peace.

Now, as lockdown is slowly lifting I am looking forward to meeting up with my family. I haven’t sat and chatted with my brother for well over a year.

So this weekend we are going to remedy that and have a catch up in my garden over a socially-distanced drink.

It’s the small things that mean the most and of all the things I’ve missed doing during this horrible Covid-19 pandemic, a simple hour in the garden with my brother is one of the things I’ve missed the most.

I’m also looking forward to visiting the Manchester Art Gallery when it reopens. Val and I love strolling around museums and galleries and can’t wait to do so again. Art is so important to society and I can’t wait for us to be able to enjoy it again.

As I said in last week’s column, I have a few performances booked in for the coming months and just the thought of singing in front of a live audience again is very exciting for me.

I’m chomping at the bit to get back on a stage and sing. It’s like a release for me to be finally able to let it all out and sing my heart out. I really cannot wait for that day.

I hope you all keep safe and well and enjoy being able to do a bit more of the things that you love to do as we ease our way out of this nasty pandemic.