“We’re going to Joyce and Dave’s” or “Aunty Joyce is coming”, two phrases that we used to love to hear when I was growing up. We used to go to ‘Joyce and Dave’s’ once a week starting from when they lived in Macclesfield and it was like a full on party every time. Joyce was such an incredibly generous and thoughtful person; every week she’d pull out the latest bargain item that she’d found, a handbag or gadget maybe from Bury market, and then pull out a second one because when she found something good she’d always get one for my Mum. Joyce used to make this amazing coconut cake, and have treats galore and to this day if I see a well stocked cupboard or fridge I refer to it as an ‘ Aunty Joyce’s’. Years later when I took my son to visit Joyce, he was about 7, and she took him straight to her garage to choose something and he came out with a brand new Power Ranger ! The best bits about those evenings was the laughter. They would henna each others hair or talk the latest diets and then the stories and banter would start. Joyce just had a fantastic capacity to make anything sound funny and whenever I think of her she’s smiling and laughing.

Karen Walker