It must have been the bacon and mushroom sandwich!

Go back some 25 years when we worked together at Digital, Janet was my administrator and friend. We left in the early 90’s and went our separate ways.

In 2006, just a year after my youngest son, Ross, died, I received an email from Janet saying she was coming to Totnes to see her friend Shelley, and I suggested we had dinner together. It was a lovely evening resulting with J driving me back to my bungalow to have a cup of tea, and check it out! I suggested, that as my friends and I were walking on Dartmoor the next day, she and Shelley might like to come with us.

They did, and as was our custom then, we stopped at Western Whitebarrow and got the stoves out for breakfast. I can still see Ridley’s eyes that day as I fired the stove up and soon handed her an unexpected bacon and mushroom sandwich!

I learnt later that her idea was to set me up with Shelley! (here today). But, as we were walking back down from the Avon Dam she suddenly grabbed my hand. Chris, who is also here today, said later “you’re a quick worker”, I said “not me, it was her”.

I like to think it was a bit of both!

So that was it. We drove up and down the M5 every weekend for 5 months and then I gave in and said “Come and live here in Brent”

And so in July 2006, she retired from work early (wasn’t that fortuitous for her?) and came and settled in Brent.

So, we travelled, J did an RHS course and Spanish lessons, more travelling abroad and more in the UK.

And then disaster. Rids was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, No probs, I thought. People don’t die of Parkinson’s . We’ll manage, and in April 2011, I was very chuffed to marry her, in the presence of many of the congregation today, in this beautiful church.

But our future was about to be shattered. It was not Parkinson’s but the extremely rare illness, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, resulting in her untimely death this month.

So, this is someone who never complained about her illness, never ever, in nearly 10 years had an argument with me (despite how hard I tried!) and died peacefully after a great few weeks in Spain and a lovely birthday party with all the family.

Anyway, I hope she is now with Phil, Sue and Ross (and Stan, our Siamese) They will all get along too well, and they will be thinking and plotting so that I won’t have to go through this again.

At least, they better had....

I loved her so much. Bye Rids xxx