‘Anyway, I’d like to be serious for a minute,’ he said, clearing his throat and focusing on the handwritten white cards in his hands. ‘As you all know, five years ago we were meant to have a summer party like this one, for our silver anniversary – the invites went out and everything. But a week before, my intrepid wife decides it’d be a good idea to do an Iron Woman and raise money for her beloved charity. And ends up breaking not just an arm, but a leg. Doing it literally cost her an arm and a leg …’

Everyone groaned at his bad joke.

‘I know, I know, I milked that one for all it was worth. Anyway,’ he continued, ‘y’know, during that time, Cat was laid up in plaster and hardly able to move, which as you can imagine knocked her for six. She was pretty down. And on the third week of her being laid low, it happened to be a certain little lady’s birthday …’

And he turned to look at Romy, who went red with all the room’s attention focused on her. ‘Dad!’ she giggled, hiding behind a heart-shaped lilac balloon that proudly bore the names Catrin and Solomon. Everyone giggled with her, delighted by her embarrassed response.

‘And Romy came into our room on the day she turned eight and brought all her birthday cards and her cake and balloons, and she put them on the bed and she said, Mummy, you can have my birthday if you like, because it will make you smile! And it did. It did make Mummy smile, didn’t it, pumpkin? And she’s been smiling ever since, pretty much. Except when England beats Wales at rugby.’

The room filled with good-natured booing and Catrin once again looked up at him, beaming.

‘And … aagh … sorry!’ He cleared his throat, continuing, ‘Yeah, and so every day we say a prayer of thanks for this bolshy little angel …’

‘Hey!’ laughed Romy.

‘… who appeared in our lives twelve years ago – YES, SHE IS TWELVE NOW, FOLKS!’ He paused for a moment, then carried on. ‘Thing is, it’s the people in our lives who make us who we are, don’t you think?’

The jollity in the room faded a little, to be replaced by a more pensive atmosphere.

‘The parents and the grandparents and godparents and the children and nieces and nephews and uncles and aunties and cousins and friends …’

At this point he noticed Judith steal a glance at Lana, who glanced back, before looking away again.

He continued, ‘… basically, all you terrible lot. We wouldn’t be here without you. So I personally want to say thank you for being such a huge part of our marriage, and for being there for us these past thirty years … well, thirty-one, in fact.’

He could hear his voice faltering, and felt his whole body begin to shake uncontrollably, as if the relief of managing to deliver the speech he’d been worrying about for weeks had finally set in.