Chris's memories Margaret was a presence in my life from the moment I was born and we were always very close. We did so much together when we were young and I always remember her picking me up from school on her scooter when she was off duty and our trips to London on her scooter to go and queue for Wimbledon. We were always a very close family and did everything together, including all our holidays - bed & breakfast, then camping and caravanning all over the UK and abroad. Margaret never forgot her achievement of driving through Paris! Later, when Ab died and I moved back to Bath, we again did everything together. I worked in the Coffee Shop with her and we helped each other with our too large gardens. We both loved tennis and we stayed in my flat in London every year and went to the annual tennis at Queen's Club and the ATP World Tennis Finals at the O2. Together with Avril we used to go to my apartment in the French Alps every year and had holidays in the UK together. We also went to Okehampton with the group from Manvers Street and here she avoided the arts and crafts as far as possible and stuck to the sports and Rummikub! We certainly fulfilled Mum's wish that we would always remain close when she and Dad were gone. My overwhelming memory of Margaret is her sense of fun and I can't remember how many times we got the giggles together and couldn't stop although other people had no idea why! The last 18 years after Ab's death it was so comforting to know you always had someone to turn to if you had a problem or needed help with anything, someone always having your back, and she has left the most huge void in my life.

Julie’s Memories of Mum: When I sit and think about it, Mum has passed on so many life skills to me. She introduced us to walking and camping holidays and taught us how to play both badminton and tennis – all things that even to this day I still value and enjoy. She shared her love of cakes, both baking and eating, especially for birthdays and celebrations and I still have many of the old family favourite recipes. When I got engaged to Mark it was Mum who was there to help plan and organise the wedding with me and offer advice and guidance. Later when we had our three children, Mum was there again to support and lend a hand. She was such an organised person and I like to think that some of that rubbed off on me! Mum (Gran) was the only one who could brush Katie’s hair and cut her nails. We still don’t know how she got her to comply! We remember with great fondness the many celebrations over the years including Easter and the ‘Withyditch walks’ (more cakes) and Christmas’s, especially the many bowls of sweets and crisps that seemed to top themselves up overnight. I have many fun and fond memories of times with Mum and am thankful for all the things she taught me. Amongst the first things Mum taught me was how to knit and it was a wonderful opportunity to be able to share time knitting together in recent months, chatting, sharing a smile, a cup of tea…. And if available a piece of cake!

What I’ll always remember most about Margaret Hopkins was at the time when she first met our Dad. Having sadly lost our mother to cancer after several years of her being ill, both my sister Julie at age 7 and I at age 11, relished in the attention we were now getting from this sporty lady who came into our lives. We called her “Mo” before she married our Dad at which time we changed to “Mum”. She introduced us to walks in the country, ball games on the beach, surfing, tennis, badminton, camping, climbing mountains, and even how to clean a house properly! The love of all these things, with the exception of cleaning the house, and camping, has stayed with me the rest of my life! I’ll remember her too for the time when I was 21 years old and in hospital having suffered a DVT in my leg. My friends were all at university by then, so I knew very few people who still lived in Bath. She spent much time with me, visiting me every day and keeping my spirits up. Sue