Sarah, April and Danuta were in their pretty summer frocks and straw hats; Peter Ryan was in his uniform and Jane looked extremely sophisticated in a figure-hugging pink dress and broad-brimmed cream hat as she arrived on the arm of her young man, Jeremy Curtis.

Jeremy had arrived that morning from London and had been a very pleasant surprise for Jane who hadn’t thought he could take time off from his work. He was tall, slim and brown-eyed, with a lick of dark hair which, rather boyishly, fell over his forehead. Quietly spoken and rather shy behind those tortoiseshell-framed glasses, he reminded Peggy a little of Fran’s Robert, but he soon revealed a marvellous sense of humour which had clearly captured Jane’s heart, and certainly endeared him to Peggy and Cordelia.

Peggy had just managed not to ask about any future wedding plans, or enquire after what sort of work he was doing in London, but by the look of him, she suspected he was something important in one of the government offices.

She glanced across to make sure that Daisy was behaving herself on the other side of the room with April and little Paula; then checked that Cordelia had enough handkerchiefs, and that Andy’s mother, Beryl, wasn’t being squashed by her sister Gloria’s bulk.

Beryl was the very opposite of Gloria, small, skinny, quietly dressed, but a bag of nervous energy. She’d come down from London this morning, arriving at the Crown in a bustle and fluster, fearing she was late as the train had been delayed. Peggy had met her only briefly outside the Town Hall, but she seemed very pleasant, and it would be lovely to get to know her better during the reception.

Peggy breathed in the heady scent of the roses and lilies that Stan had arranged in vases about the room. She glanced at her watch, shot Andy a look of encouragement and sympathy, and gave a sigh. Ivy was in danger of being late – as usual – and with the Town Hall being so busy with weddings, she could lose the slot if she wasn’t careful.

Peggy had fretted over Ivy’s seemingly gung-ho attitude to it all, and therefore had been amazed to discover that despite her fears, Ivy had organised everything wonderfully well – although she suspected the involvement of Doris, Rosie and Gloria had had a great deal to do with it.