I first got to know Muriel & Tom, when Muriel was Matron of Clay Cross Hall and I was introduced as the ‘new boyfriend’. Tom eventually stopped calling me ‘Phil’ (a reference to a previous boyfriend) when it was clear I was here to stay and I really was serious about marrying Margaret. Even at that early stage, Muriel struck me as a woman with immense drive and energy, but a bit over-awing too! I was struck by the great care and compassion she showed for residents of the Hall and I also remember great social occasions such as garden parties and Christmas celebrations and always many visitors. The family motto had always been ‘There is nothing this family cannot do! And both she and Tom had fought hard to see their children Margaret and Richard through years of treatment in hospital for scoliosis. I cannot imagine what it must have been like to be told that neither of them would be likely to survive beyond their teenage years. Yet here Margaret & me stand after 41 years of marriage with 2 children of our own and 2 lovely granddaughters. Tom and Muriel have had the joy of seeing 2 grandchildren grow up. Tom was able to hold his first great-granddaughter Anya before he died the following spring. Anya became a very special great-granddaughter to Muriel and she was able to hold her second great granddaughter Ella in the Easter after her birth. Muriel’s strong will and determinations sometimes brought her into conflict with the rest of the family, but we were always able to work through our problems and forgive each other. She started to rediscover her Christian faith much later in life after Richard died of Leukaemia in 1994, only 5 weeks after being diagnosed. It was amazing to be treated as a son after that, since my own parents had died many years earlier. Both Margaret & me were able to pray & encourage her along with parish visitors in the following years, particularly as her health deteriorated and she eventually needed nursing care. Staff at the Old Vicarage Nursing home in Clay Cross have been exceptional in their love and care, even to the extent of fitting a doorbell to her room so she could ‘maintain her standards’. We will all miss her greatly, but know she is safe in God’s loving arms. She leaves a lasting legacy, not only through the three generations of family that she leaves behind, but also through the many staff she trained and inspired during her time as Matron of Clay Cross Hall, many of whom have gone on to take up careers in the Caring Professions themselves. So Muriel, now that you’re back with Tom, please tell him that I really will try to remember to finish my wine at the end of the first course and not drink any of it with the pudding – he was always ticking me off for that!