Since Baz was diagnosed with incurable cancer just over a year ago there have been many opportunities for us to discuss and reflect on his life, as well as making the very most of the time that we had left. The day that he left our home in Trafalgar Road for the last time to go into the hospice was understandably emotional for both of us. At one point that morning I said to him ‘it’s been good hasn’t it?' His reply was ‘it’s been amazing’!

I wanted to share some of the aspects of that amazing life with you as we say goodbye to him today, and to tell you that he had no regrets at all. We both agreed that if someone had told our teenage selves about all the wonderful things that we would achieve and experience in our lives we would never have believed them.

Barry was the eldest of five children and he had an idyllic childhood with his family on Ranmore Common near Dorking. He went to Ranmore School when he was young; where when he first arrived they actually used slates to write on – one of his favourite jokes was to say that when they were writing on the slates they had to be careful not to fall off the roof! His love of singing started whilst he was there, as he was talent spotted at a young age and chosen to sing solos and duets in the church next door to the school with his schoolfriend Virginia Humphries.

When he left Ranmore School aged 11 he went on to Sondes Place Secondary School in Dorking and stayed there until he was 17. His main interest there was in sport rather than the academic side of things. He was particularly good at cross country running, which he loved.

Once he left school he worked in local government for many years, before having to take early retirement in the mid 1990s due to his ongoing back problems. After that he became very actively involved with the Horsham Area Community Car Scheme, which we will hear more about later.

Music continued to be a lifelong passion for him and he sang in a number of bands during the late 1970s and early 1980s. He went to masses of gigs and had an encyclopaedic knowledge of pop music. During the music rounds of various trivia quizzes I used to sit back and watch in admiration as he and our friend Val answered every question correctly!

Baz always had a very full social life and was very popular. Let’s just say that I was by no means the first girl that he went out with! Once we met though we immediately formed a close bond and that depth of love, understanding and friendship has served us both very well for the past 40 years. We were the true definition of a team – the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Team Rice has achieved so much since it was formed 40 years ago in 1978. We have two wonderful boys that we couldn’t be prouder of and they in turn have wonderful partners, Jade & Jess, who are much-loved members of our family. Not forgetting ‘that bloody cat’ Sasha of course, plus my new grand-pup Luca who is just gorgeous and I know will bring us all a lot of fun and joy going forwards.

Barry and I started off living in rented accommodation in Westhumble near Dorking in 1980. We bought our first house in Beare Green in 1982 and then moved into our current house in Trafalgar Road in 1987, when Alex was 6 months old. Since moving to Horsham we have built up a wonderful network of friends, whose support, especially over the past year, has been and will continue to be invaluable.

We have also been lucky enough to travel to many places and of course to buy our little house in Spain, where we have spent many happy times over the past ten years. Since my early retirement in 2014 we have really taken advantage of all the extra time that gave us and had a truly wonderful three years up until last summer.

So, as Chris would say, ‘team work makes the dream work!’

Barry's incurable cancer diagnosis in July last year came as a complete shock to us all but I feel very proud of how brave, honest and accepting he was about it and also of the way we managed and faced it together as a family. We have achieved so much over this last year and have squeezed every ounce of enjoyment that we could out of our time together, creating so many wonderful memories that I know will sustain our family and friends over the coming months and years.

He was full of generosity and surprises right up to the end. The day after he went into the hospice he told me about a savings account that he had been using to pay in his winnings from the horses each week. As he said, with classic understatement, ‘I was quite good at it’, so much so that Alex's mates have long referred to Barry as 'The Chief'. He has left a considerable amount of savings that we knew nothing about until that moment. He had been hoping to use it for a special trip for us – probably for our ruby wedding in two years time – but now it is to be shared between Cancer Research, St Catherine's Hospice, the two boys for their weddings and myself.

All lives must come to a close – naturally we wouldn’t have chosen for it to be this soon but any time would have been too early for us. He didn’t suffer any pain throughout the course of his illness and his final weeks were very peaceful. He and the family have been looked after incredibly well by the staff at Guys Hospital, Barts Hospital, East Surrey Hospital and St Catherine's Hospice and I can never thank them enough for that.

So I have to agree with him that it has been amazing – bloody amazing. The boys and I love him so much and will miss him more than we can say, but he will always live on in our hearts and in the hearts of everyone else here, and that’s a legacy for him to be incredibly proud of.