At his funeral it came to light he had never had a Christmas lunch with friends, but spent every Christmas Day, on his own, shut up in his flat and, most probably drunk, feeling totally unloved.
I feel so angry that my daughter used our grandson as a bartering tool, and so guilty that I allowed her to deprive our son of a family Christmas.
Our daughter and her husband had a child and she insisted that if we had our son with us on Christmas Day, she wouldn't come.
My husband and I were in a very similar situation for 15 years after our daughter refused to be in any room with our son, who was an alcoholic.
BEL MOONEY: Can I ever forgive my daughter's cruelty at Christmas?
