My name is Eileen and I was lucky enough to have Barbara as a best friend for over 30 years. This has been one of the hardest and at the same time easiest things I have ever had to do, hard because of the occasion and easy because there is so much one could say about Barbara. I asked friends and family to give me one word to describe Barbara and not surprisingly was inundated with words such as Loyal, Encouraging, Brave, Inspirational, Positive, Kind and many more, none of these words will come as a surprise to any of us but it struck me that so many of the same words came from so many different areas of her life. It is no coincidence that Barbara’s friends have been so for a long time, Barbara nurtured her friendships and valued the time she spent with people. It is clear from the messages received that Barbara touched people wherever she went and was never forgotten when she moved on, whether it be school friends, friends from the gym or the many colleagues Barbara worked with over the years (many of whom are here today) Barbara never lost touch with those who were important to her. I originally met Barbara over 30 years ago when our children started St Augustine’s school, we travelled to and from the school together and very quickly became good friends. At that time we were both young single mums but despite what must have been a very difficult and sad time for Barbara having lost her husband and Michelle’s dad Reg, Barbara was very positive and determined to make her life as full and successful as it could be for her and her little girl. True to form that is what Barbara did, her strong work ethic and desire to do well for herself and Michelle meant she always worked and always strove to do better. It has to be said that in her short life Barbara achieved more than the average person, often in the face of great adversity. It was during these early years of our friendship that Barbara met Brian and understandably fell deeply in love, together with Michelle they created a new and happy family. A lot of the words we received referred to Barbara's sense of fun, her great smile and wicked sense of humour. I have very fond memories or her screeching to a halt outside my house in her shiny sports car, we would whizz around the country roads of Essex with the top down pretending to be Thelma and Louise. We received stories from school friends one in particular referred to a teenage night out wearing new Twiggy inspired floppy hats which later became the receptacles for too may Pernod and Black and Crème De Menthe cocktails, I suspect Michelle is hearing these tales for the first time. Often during our country outings we would just walk and talk, Barbara would often talk about her family and friends with great love and pride, her lovely mum and dad, her two beautiful nieces Christie and Bonnie, her handsome nephew Beau and of course Elaine, John and Jo and how much she cared for them and their future happiness. But by far the favourite subject of conversation was the two people Barbara loved the most, Michelle and Brian. Her pride in everything Michelle has achieved and at what a beautiful accomplished young woman she has turned into was always evident and her happiness and contentment in her life with Brian was music to my ears. My friend was truly and deservedly happy. I think I speak on behalf of us all when I say we have loved and will miss you Barbara and thank God for the day he brought you into our lives. You inspired us all with you’re your warmth and generosity of spirit and it was your strength and great attitude that keep you with us long after others would have given up. A shining light has surely gone out in all our lives. I would like to close with these tributes from Michelle and Brian. From Michelle........... I have been so lucky to have such a loving, brave and inspirational mother. I will miss her so much but the below quote says it well for me: 'Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal' From Brian.......... Barbara's father Derek once said to him that Barbara had been a very happy child and always had a smile on her face and that is how Brian would like us all to remember Barbara by.