It was in those early days when I was news reading that he and Countess Mountbatten asked me to be the guest speaker at a fundraising dinner - which I was happy to do - and I have, as you know, stayed involved ever since, albeit in a very minor role. I also remember recording a video at Demelza for a national TV appeal for children’s hospices as a whole, and Derek’s early invitation was a trigger for that. He was a very great man, and few are privileged to have been the driving force in the creation of such a powerful institution helping so many children and their families.