Sitting down at my desk, I knew exactly what I was about to write.
I wanted to tell quite an important person about my wife, Hilary.
How she’d been an amazing social worker and mother, about her love for Dolly Parton and how she was the love of my life.
And I wanted to wish this person well – I hoped they were living a happy and healthy life.
Because Hilary gave them a very special gift.
And even though I have no idea who the recipient of this gift is, it felt important to share our life together with them.
I met Hilary in Forres in 1969 – we were engaged after just six weeks, before marrying on 11 September 1971.
And by 2016, we’d been married for 45 years, raising our two children Ian, now 48, and Catherine, now 47. We couldn’t wait to have grandchildren one
