Jill’s Thank You (written by her in 2019) John & I lived in the same small village in Sussex. Our house was called Seascape and my bedroom was at the back and I had a window with a view of the sea. I always loved to be down on the beach. The first time I can remember meeting John was when I was sailing with my uncle in a boat he had built which had begun to sink & John’s dad - a photographer - spotted the problem arranged help and got a picture of it in the local paper! As we got to know each other we realised that we had a great deal in common sharing many interests & values. We married in 1959 and Caroline was born the following year & Hilary 3 years later. We were very lucky that the children grew up liking the things that we did and we had many happy holidays - camping, sailing, & in particular exploring the canal system when it was only just starting to open up for leisure boating. It was quite adventurous as everywhere had become very run down. On one occasion we battled our way up a long flight of locks to the top of Birmingham where we were greeted by an elderly gent sitting on a bollard who told us that boats don’t come up here any more - but we just had! We had lots of animals & the dogs usually came on holiday with us & on one voyage we had a problem with our boat so my mother took Caroline shopping & they came back with a hamster in a cage for the rest of the trip! We have always embraced change & looked forward to moving house, meeting new people & making new friends. A move to East Anglia came up and I was back living by the sea again. I don’t think the girls were quite so pleased when they had to change schools though! After 3 years we moved again this time to Wiltshire. This was probably the happiest & most fulfilling time. We became involved with restoration of the Kennet & Avon Canal raising money & promoting events & were honoured and proud to be presented to the Queen when she came to the official opening of the canal from Bath to Reading. I worked as the Trust membership secretary for 15 years which was quite a lot of work being pre computers! We also started our own business which was good fun & in a year or so were employing 21 people. Our daughters had now left home, we started square dancing making many friends throughout the country, & had time to start exploring the rest of Great Britain and Ireland with our camper & our bikes being away for a couple of months at a time twice a year. But the lure of the sea returned & in 2001 we visited Exmouth, fell in love with its people & the town & made our 10th house move within 12 weeks of our first visit. We were back by the sea! Shortly after our younger daughter & our two lovely grandchildren, Hannah and Ollie, joined us so we had the pleasure of seeing the children grow up & flourish in such a relaxed town. It has been lovely to follow their progress closely over the years through their education and into their chosen careers as happy and fulfilled adults. It has been a joy to us that all 3 generations get on so well together & we treasure the memories of shared holidays & activities. I thank you all for the part you have played in our lives to make it so joyous - there have been many strands mixing, entwining & sometimes diverging but throughout we have had a wonderful life. But most of all my thanks to John who has been my rock, stay, best friend and soulmate for 60 years. So what of me - of course you know - I am back where I started looking out at the sea!