Outside, the stucco walls and front steps had been repaired and painted, and the electrician had wired in the two lamps Rosie had discovered in one of the many boxes she’d stored in her cellar. They’d once graced the front of her parents’ private hotel, and she’d kept them out of a sense of nostalgia, but was delighted to see them put to good use again.

Peggy crossed the hall, barely glancing into the room that she and Jim had shared for so many years, for she’d turned it into another spare room with two single beds, and the minimum of furniture, which left it looking a bit impersonal. It had proven to be surprisingly large once that huge double bed and old dark furniture had been transferred upstairs, and Daisy’s cot relegated to the attic. New window frames, curtains and lino made it look fresh and welcoming.

She opened the door to her kitchen and felt the familiar thrill of pleasure she always got when she walked in here. How clean, bright and spacious it was now the old larder had been torn down, and the huge chest of drawers moved up to Charlie’s room. The window had been extended to let in more sunshine in the afternoons, and spread the length of her new wooden worktops, drainer and refurbished sink. Frank had replaced the old cracked tiles with new bright yellow ones, and there were white painted cupboards and drawers beneath the surfaces that Ron and Frank had made out of wood they’d accumulated over the years – and in the place of the old corner shelves stood a sparkling white refrigerator.

It had been a surprise gift from Anne and Martin and was her pride and joy. She never tired of opening the door to see the light come on to illuminate the modest amount of food she had stored inside.

The range still sat in the fireplace, for although she would have loved a modern gas cooker, it wouldn’t have been able to heat the water and radiators. But it had had a fresh coat of blacking, the hotplate covers had been replaced, and a man had come round to give it a thorough service. The two old armchairs were past it, really, but everyone had protested so vehemently when she’d threatened to throw them out, that she’d had Sally make some new loose covers for them so they didn’t look quite as shabby, and she’d replaced the bulky old wireless – which Charlie now had in his room – for the modern one Cissy had sent down from London, which sat on a low table near the chairs.

Peggy filled the kettle from one of the shining brass taps over the sink and placed it on the hob. There was new yellow linoleum on the floor, and Charlie had sanded down the kitchen table and chairs in his spare time and painted them all white. Because those chairs had always been a bit hard to sit on for very long, Peggy had taken a leaf out of her sister’s book and made seat cushions with the left-over yellow gingham from the kitchen curtains.