I’d like to thank every one of you for coming along today to celebrate Dad’s life. He was a very special man – a real character as he got older, the like of which are becoming fewer every year and that we won’t see again. My Dad, Peter, was an ordinary man who was catapulted by circumstances into achieving extraordinary things. He rose to the challenge on every occasion, as you will hear shortly in David’s address. An unpretentious, unassuming man, he would have been content with his lot, but when the need arose he fought – literally and metaphorically for his countrymen and his family. He sacrificed his youth to the War and gave up his home life for nearly 20 years in the Merchant Navy to ensure a secure future for Mum and me. I am thankful to him for all the opportunities he gave me and for his values: he was a fair and honest man, who couldn’t stand racism or cruelty of any kind. He had a wonderfully dry sense of humour and always made me laugh with his observations. He was my first love, was my Dad, as for most daughters, and in turn - as Mum used to say - he would have given me the top brick off the chimney if I’d asked him for it. He was away at sea for most of every year, never spent a Christmas at home and we missed those special growing-up years together. Life conspired against us again when I married my first, late husband in 1972 as I moved to Wigan, where Dad’s only grandchild, Robert, was born. Robert was very close to his Granddad so is very sad that he’s unable to be here today as he lives in Australia with his wife, Sophia, and new baby daughter, Milly. Dad adored children, and he was delighted to meet his great-granddaughter, Milly, in April this year. After Mum passed away in 2004, just 4 months short of their 60th wedding anniversary, Dad wanted to stay in their home but he came to live with me nearly 5 years ago when he started to become frailer. It was an opportunity not to have been missed as we had a chance to spend lovely times together and he loved going for drives in the countryside, having an ice cream on the sea front at Allonby or going out for lunch. He enjoyed doing his shopping (mainly for Guinness!) with our friend Pat (and there’s a wonderful story there – they were the Bonny & Clyde of Cockermouth!!). He loved flowers, particularly his favourite sweet peas, for which he gained medals at various shows from the National Sweet Pea Society. He was also keen on wildlife and watching the red squirrels, hares and birds through the French windows. He said, ‘I’m a city boy, but I’ve become a real country boy.’ When David and I got married in 2008, Dad was determined to walk me down the aisle to give me away (and in fact when he was thanked for letting David marry his daughter, I realised just how determined when he replied ‘You’re MORE than welcome’)! He’s the only man who ever bought me flowers every week and never missed a day to say ‘you’re lovely’ or ‘you’re the greatest’. But those two phrases sum up my Dad for me – he was lovely and he was the greatest.