Man hosts his own wake to 'celebrate life'

Pat is known as "Party Pat" to his friends and wanted to share a final fling with them

A man diagnosed with terminal cancer has attended his own wake as he said he wanted to "celebrate my life".

"I'm 'Party Pat'. And I decided, I'm going to be at the party," said Pat Mahoney, who is 74 and from Luton, Bedfordshire.

"I invited all the people from all the groups that I attend, and I'm going to be on that floor bopping around," he told the BBC.

Pat also recorded a performance of Elvis Presley's The Wonder of You with his dementia choir at the Marshall Studio in Milton Keynes, which was played at the wake.

"You being here has touched my heart and is a memory I can take with me," Pat told his friends at the event

Friends and family packed out Hope Church in Luton to spend time celebrating Pat.

Christine Boyd, who helps to run the singing dementia cafe, said: "It's a real honour but it's tinged with sadness.

"Pat has been a fantastic friend to our dementia cafe for those 10 years.

"We can hopefully celebrate his life because he's had a wonderful life. He's been Mr Party Pat."

Another friend said: "I don't think anyone could be upset, the way you're doing this tonight. It's absolutely brilliant.

"You mean the world to us, you've always been there."

"Why celebrate somebody when I can't be there? I'm going to be there!," Pat said

Pat said it had been "very emotional, seeing my friends having this wake and seeing their love".

He wanted to make the most of his last few months and weeks.

"I thought, I'm going to have a party like no other party. I'm going to bop around on that floor as long as I can.

"Because when the time comes and I have to go into palliative care, that's not going to happen – but until then I'm going to continue going to the groups."

He told his friends at the event: "Thank you for coming. You're diamonds, love you all, you mean the world to me."