"I remember Muriel showing me the button under the carpet in the dining room, placed so whoever was sat at the head of the table could step on it and it rang a bell in the kitchen. I'm kind of assuming they must have had staff at some stage, as I feel sure Muriel would never have lifted a finger if she could help it! She grew up in colonial India, with a whole raft of house servants."
I remember it was always an amazing experience going to visit Jim and Muriel - we had to dress up posh, and we always stopped at a garden centre on the way to buy Murie some plants, she adored plants."
"Murie was completely batty, and utterly wonderful! She doted on animals - she had a black labrador called Rover, which she always called "Rovie" in a very high pitched voice. She fed the garden birds so much they were completely tame - not on bird food mind, oh no, on blanched peanuts and raisins from M&S!"
"Apparently she and my great aunt ran away from home in the 20's and high-tailed round Europe as 'exotic dancers' - she had a lovely photo of herself from this time, looking dazzlingly glamourous, which she showed to everyone - the obligatory answer was 'You haven't changed a bit'."
