It was Gemma’s 40th birthday in August, so she and Chris planned to visit that month, at the same time as Alex and Immy (Graham and Belle don’t like the heat).

Alex and Immy were the first to arrive; we spent some time making and hanging birthday banners and other tacky decorations which Gemma certainly appreciated when she got here.

We spent a lovely couple of weeks, swimming, eating out and doing all the other normal holiday activities.

One important thing we wanted to do was to say our final goodbyes to Nick; it would have been his birthday on August 28th, so we decided to go to the top of his favourite col, la Hourquette d’Ancizan, to scatter his ashes in his beloved Pyrenees.

The logistics took some working out, but worked perfectly in the end. We dropped Kieran and Chris in Ste Marie de Campan, at the bottom of the climb, from where they started cycling the col, carrying Nick’s ashes in a rucksack. Gemma and I drove a bit further, to Payolle, then shared the riding and driving from there, my bike only needed a slight adjustment to the saddle height to suit each of us. Alex drove Kieran’s car, with Alice, Immy, Artie and Emily, to the top of the col, from where she started walking down to meet us. We picnicked near the top and reminisced about happier times, before finding a lovely space, away from the road and overlooking the mountains, where we scattered Nick’s ashes.

It was, obviously, very emotional, but we all felt that this was exactly where he’d have wanted to be. It felt a very fitting tribute.