Having been widowed myself a year or so before my Auntie Judy died - Stan and I grew close afterwards as I made a concerted effort to visit more and get him out visiting places. We had a great time and made some lovely memories.

Losing a spouse is painful and it can still be lonely even with the best of friends and family. We got on so well and I love coming to the oasis I saw as Somerset and his family home. The drive is relaxing - well apart from the A34 and I relish the quick flashing glance of Stonehenge.

Stan I visited the Balloon Fayre in Bristol, the beach at Westbay and lovely National Trust properties like Stourhead and Montecute - I hoped to visit more but his health got in the way - but we enjoyed going for some lovely lunches at the garden Centre at St Mary Otterley in latter years. He would indulge me in my love of antiques at the big store up the road in Crewkerne.

Being keen on Christmas myself I was so pleased to engineer a Christmas day with Stan for 2018 and ably supported and accompanied by family friend and good friend of Stan, Pam. I found a whole tree with lights in a box and we had a splendid Wiltshire Farm Foods Christmas dinner and mince pies!

As a child I remember marbles in the concrete path in Chinnor and the little bits to distract small children - my sister Fay and I delighted in the teeny gold dollhouse size tea set and the various crystals and knick nacks around their cosy homes.

We shared an ecletic mix of musical tastes - my husband found a sampled bit of Cocktails for Two by Spike Jonze and the City Slickers which apparently Stan's little brother Tubby called the 'sick song' as there lots of crazy sound effects.

For his 90th birthday we went along to a Cudos Christmas variety type show and everyone sang him Happy Birthday...I was proud to organise that too. We watched ROmeo and Juliet at the Octogan and a weird but wonderful opera on Boxing day - presumably in 2018.

Did you know he had a bit of a soft spot for RedBull amateur soapbox races?? We would giggle at their exploits!

Having to work on the land as a reserved occupation was initially frustrating but how he met Aunty Judy (he says she sized him up across the farmyard and thought he was a bit of a catch [lol]) and also learnt to blow up trees in order to expand the field boundaries to be able to use American Combines which were bigger than ours. He also trained up a Russian Crown Prince who had survived the revolution - in matters of the land too - Stan was only 17 but this Prince was good company and he earnt a few treats like cigarettes from him. Stan said he looked the spit of George V !!

Stan thoroughly enjoyed training up apprentices throughout his working life and liked young people and was a quiet feminist which I appreciated. He said it seemed mad not paying two people the same money for the same job. Being mild mannered but also firm when he wanted to be - I am sure he was loved and appreciated by the folk he taught.

During his engineering aircraft days the ladies would re-paint dials in cockpits and the choice of the customer was radioactive or not! Some to do with luminescence.

SO many memories and his cheeky smile and spring in his step.

So glad to have made firm friends and been there at the absolute end.

My Uncle Stan - gentleman and scholar, of the land.

C x