Grandpa Snaresbrook had a brilliant quick sense of humour, and Nanny Snaresbrook made the best soup and chips. They taught me how to manage money. When we visited there was always a shilling to spend and a shilling to save. Nanny also insisted in me, the importance of women being able to support themselves independently.

My father was a teacher. He set really high values and then made sure he lived them by example. He frequently cycled round Uxbridge taking photographs, which later became a series of books on the town and its history. He was a long serving chairman of the Uxbridge Local History Society, and a church organist and trustee. He spent a lot of time with us.

My mother died when I was 5, but later dad re married to Pamela East, and my second “mother” joined us. She took on a huge challenge and has now been my brilliant mum for 60 years. She guided us, supported us and loved us, and we are now hers by right, if not by birth. She is an amazing woman. A PE teacher, county hockey player, a member of the BBC Symphony chorus, a maker of tutus and PVC raincoats, and latterly she has made violins, a viola and cello. She also completed the family by giving Gill and I another sister, Rebecca. We loved having a real baby to play with.

So, you can see my parents were not the sort of people who encouraged us to sit in front of the TV and idle away our time.  Our education was of primary importance. Instead of a bedtime story dad would come and do a “Question Time” this was often accompanied by a “secret supper” of Ritz crackers, cream cheese, dried fruit or small pieces of butter rolled in sugar!

About my two sisters. Yes, you've guessed it. They are the best sisters ever, and we have always been there for each other. Gill and I shared a bedroom, but we are chalk and cheese. I sat reading a book, while Gill was always pestering me to play running games. She was into ballet and tap dancing and I was into horse riding. Gill liked Motown and I liked Rock. Gill likes to travel, and I like to stay at home. And yet recently, we have worked together in mum and dad's garden, and when she has helped me in my own home when I could no longer manage, it turns out that we have exactly the same work ethos.

Rebecca went the ballet/ tap route, but really her heart was in music and has made a career out of teaching music to others. She is a confident performer and speaker and it would not surprise me at all if she volunteers to read this. I can almost hear her voice….

My sisters were always there when I needed them, and we have shared many memorable holidays and day trips with a lot of fun and laughter. And Des and Andy are the best brothers in law ever.

Through dad’s marriage I acquired a third set of grandparents who welcomed us into their family. I also gained 2 uncles. We had an uncle who lived in the USA, which we thought was just amazing. He was always known as “Peter in America”, as if it was his surname. Our other uncle, Leslie has had a noteworthy career in music, supported his wife Lilija and their two daughters Andra and Karoline, who were keeping their Latvian heritage well and truly alive.

I grew up in a neighbourhood with a lot of other children, and with places nearby where we could explore. We were outdoors a lot - over the field, the old railway, or visiting the gypsy horses. My childhood friends Yvonne and Julie are very special, and I am lucky that they came into my life. Yve is my most sensible and grounded friend, one I would most turn to for advice. Julie is my Bruce Springsteen buddy, with whom I have had many special moments.

I went to Whitehall primary school in Uxbridge in 1963 and I have close friends Sue and Janice that go back to those days. With them there is no place to hide! They know everything there is about me, and I love them dearly. We have had many a happy holiday in the Lake District, with Dave (Janice’s husband), as our wonderful guide when we went exploring.

I had a lovely time at Bishopshalt school in Hillingdon and made friends for life. Deborah, Bernie, Chris and Carol have stayed in touch, and when we get together it's as if nothing has changed. I consider myself very lucky to have had a grammar school education that filled me with self-confidence.

As a result of this positivity, I grew up with a lot of self-confidence and sailed forth into the workplace. A decision to go away to Bath, to college, did not work out well, so I threw myself at the mercy of the London Borough of Hillingdon careers officer who suggested that I became a supernumerary assistant, part of an additional 12 admin staff hired to see them through the move into the new Civic Centre. We were supposed to experience work in several different areas - telephone room, post room etc my first placement was in office services, and luckily my first boss was Sue Cunningham, who for some reason decided I was worth hanging onto, and so I just stayed in her area, and she became my mentor in life. She persuaded me to change my hairstyle, my clothes, and even my unsuitable boyfriend! She has continued with this scheme for the rest of my life, although she completely failed to make me enjoy shopping. But her influence on me, and the experiences she has given me are immense. She also made sure that I went into chemotherapy treatments with plenty of home cooked and frozen meals that I shall be forever thankful for.

Kim and “little” Sue joined us in office services, and we became a foursome of friends who have been together for all my adult life. We have had many memorable adventures together. With them I have skied, hunted, boated and holidayed.  We have most recently explored Scotland and Yorkshire. They also help me fulfil a bucket list wish by coming with me to eat at Le Manoir au Quatre Saison last summer. A very memorable experience.

At Hillingdon I also met Maryjane when we went on the same day release course.  Despite her sweet and innocent appearance, she is the only person who ever persuaded me to play truant. We made a most important trip to get fabric to make a dress to impress her now husband of many years, the forever kind and gentle Tony. Maryjane has faithfully stayed in touch, and when we meet, we have had some very deep conversations as well as a lot of laughs. She also makes excellent homemade fudge.

The boys at school were never interested in me, but suddenly when I started working at the Civic Centre something magical happened, and this could possibly have been the result of the 38C chest that suddenly appeared! Alisa was the competition, a blonde bombshell with eyes that could bring a man to his knees. She won. But we have stayed friends and had many an adventure. We have skied, sunbathed and hunted, and even once shared a bed in Crete. I was very honoured when she invited me to her hen weekend on the QE2.

After some very happy years at the Civic Centre I changed jobs, and went to work for Curry’s, the electrical retailer later taken over by Dixons. My first project was to implement word processing into the credit control and debt recovery departments, and this is how my career with technology began. I also met husband no. 1, Terry Quoroll, and started my animal collection with rabbits, mice, guinea pigs and cats. Terry was a lovely man, but the married life we had did not suit me, and I didn't know how to say so and change it, so after six years we divorced.

I went on to project manage the introduction of a job recording system for Curry’s service company Mastercare.  This was one of my favourite jobs ever, as we really had a small team working on something completely new. We took 40 service centres around the country from a paper-based system to a computer system. I then led the implementation of handheld terminals for 900 engineers. We were a small team, and I've lost touch with most of them, but stayed in touch especially with Jacqui and Linsey. It was Linsey's tales of living in Naphill that made me aware of the place later when we were house hunting.

I also met a tall, handsome service manager called Jim Cosgrove who managed a service centre in Glasgow. We got on immediately and he took me for a drive around his local area. This is when I fell in love with both Jim and Scotland. I was still married then, so it was not to be, but we stayed in touch, and over 10 years ago we met up again and were able to have a wonderful relationship. We had some brilliant times exploring both Scotland and England.

In 1991 I moved to work for a computer reseller called businessland. The finance director was Ralph Whitehouse and readers, I married him. We spent many happy times on his canal boat “Suki” and for his birthday I bought him a black Labrador puppy called Jess. After a few days we thought Jess might be a bit lonely, so along came blonde Katie. It had been a childhood dream to have a dog, and now there were two! And in August 1993 baby Jacob Benjamin joined the family. More about him later.

Although my marriage to Ralph did not last, it was an adventure, and he has gone on to find happiness with Caroline (who is brilliant) and their son Joseph. As some of you know in recent weeks, I have been unable to look after my dogs Tessa and Flora, and Ralph and Caroline have very kindly taken them in. They are ideally located in Wales to give a dog a great life, and my “girls” settled really quickly with them. Through Ralph I gained another family.

Shortly after joining Businessland Ralph took on another role, and a new finance director, Jim Rousou, joined. His first job was to cut costs and after a few hostilities, Ralph was a casualty. As it was known that I was in a relationship with him, and as my project was also cut, I expected to be first out. I waited and waited, but nothing happened. In the end I went and asked why I had not been made redundant. In true blackadder style Jim told me that “he had a cunning plan”. Jim's cunning plan for me went on for 25 years and in 2002 he, his sons Paul and Tony and I took part in a management buyout of a company called “Elcom” and ran it for four years until it was sold. I loved everything about elcom, especially the people. There was something about them that made them special.

When it became time for Jacob to go to secondary school, and given the difficulties he had with reading, we opted to send him to a private school in Wales. Much cheaper than Buckinghamshire by the way. So, Caroline gained a part time weekdays son, and he came home to me at weekends. She has the same values and standards as I do, and I knew it would work. I missed him badly of course, but it was best for him. He had another life in Wales and his new school quickly picked up on his dyslexia and gave him extra support. Without this I don't think he would have gone on to university and achieved a first-class master’s degree.

I moved to Naphill 31 years ago. It is a wonderful place to live, and I have made so many friends. The amount of love support and help that I have received from my neighbours and friends locally has been beyond anything I would have expected, and I've counted my blessings over and over again. The dog walking posse have walked their dogs past my windows in recent times so that I could say hello.

Two years ago, I started volunteering for the National Trust at Hughenden Manor and got satisfaction from being part of their team. It was a place full of friendship and goodwill, and I made friends there that I cherished. They have stayed in touch with me, and shared pictures of the Manor when I could no longer visit.

And then there are my naphill angels, Sarah Gunn, with whom I shared morning dog walks and very interesting conversations. Sarah messaged me every morning to check that I was OK and brightened up my day.

Sarah Creaser. I giggle as she calls me her employer. I have trusted her with my dogs for many years, and this year with 10 minutes warning, and more than once purely as a friend, she took in my dogs and kept them safe for me until I could come home.

Eleanor Ferguson, who was determined that I should keep the dogs for as long as possible, walked them as many mornings as she could, and at the same time appointed herself chief recycler to the household and organiser of my garage and utility room.

Amanda Hall and (Stuart), my long-term dog walking partner, with whom I have put the world right on many occasions. Amanda is a great cook and has provided tempting recipes and meals to make sure that I was eating. She also on many occasions and at short notice drove me to various hospitals and made sure that I was supplied with food and drink for the long wait ahead.

Destiny Johnson, Jacob’s girlfriend, whom I have not known for long but who, with Jacob, came to live with me when I was no longer able to live alone. It was a huge ask, but one she was willing to take on as she is such a kind and caring person. She certainly took care of me, and I wish for a very happy life for her and Jacob.

And finally, my best friend in all the world, Wendy Murray, who has provided me with so much love and support. Not only has she been willing to talk me through some of the decisions I have had to make, but she also voluntarily came and drained my lung for me several times a week, for months. There are no words to express my thanks and everyone who knows Wendy knows exactly what I mean when I say she is one in a million.

I have now to thank our wonderful NHS who have kept me going for over 30 years.  Things would have been very different without them. Specifically, I must thank my oncology team who have been fabulous all along, the community nurses who are so caring and such fun and have brightened up my morning since the start of June last year. And lastly the staff at the Florence Nightingale Hospice at Stoke Mandeville, who were so kind and understanding, both when I was at home and in my final days in their care. The thing that has made my whole life such a very happy one is the people I've met along the way. That's all of you. I consider myself so very lucky to have known you. Thank you so much.