Hilary and Gary were on a holiday in France when Elsie died, they were due back in a week or so. Instead, they cut their trip short, begged some staff on the ferries to get an earlier ticket and hurtled back to Chester to support us as pastors. Over the next 2 weeks, they were very present in our home. They gave up their own lives and prioritised us over everything. They guided us through some difficult decisions and organised everything to do with Elsie’s celebration service. They did SO much behind the scenes, and SO much on the day.

Since then, they continued to support me – above and beyond their ‘job description’. They didn’t judge me when I moaned about other people in a very unchristian sort of way. They made me feel like I could say whatever I wanted and that I was justified to feel however I felt. I could be honest with them, without fearing that they would think any less of me. When my world continued to fall around me, they met with me for drinks, helped me hem my curtains, sat with me and watched ‘Strictly’, and filled my house with various types of foliage to create festive wreaths!

When I cautiously mentioned something to them about wanting to buy some books for bereaved children, they not only encouraged me, but offered me their full support, helping me get contacts and guiding me through mazes. They agreed that Storehouse could incubate us as an existing charity until a point where we were ready to ‘go it alone’ and register as a charity in our own right. They did this from the start of 2014 to the start of 2018 when we became a CIO and got our very own charity number.