In early March 1991 Barbara and Brian visited me in Glasgow. I was feeling sore and delicate. I had fallen 400 feet off a Munro in the Southern Highlands of Scotland in mid January 1991- miraculously suffering relatively minor injuries, but severely lacking in confidence about ever walking up a hill again. So Barbara and Brian accompanied me up an easy local hill (Beinn An in the Trossachs) where I spent most of the two hours terrified, convinced I was about to plunge off the hill at high speed at any moment. After our walk Barbara said to me in her no nonsense style, "you need to take yourself up a proper hill soon, on your own or you may not carry on with your hillwalking". So on the 14th March 91 I followed her advice and I took myself up a mist and snow covered Ben

Challum, in the southern Highlands. On the final approaches to top I remember nearly jumping out of my skin when I startled some ptarmigan, but apart from this, the day was absorbing but straightforward - it was my 93 Munro and I have never looked back since, going onto the finish the Munros and enjoying walking on a regular basis.

But none of this would have been possible without Barbara's encouragement on that day in 1991. She gave me the resolve to carry on the adventure - so typical of Barbara who showed great determined and courage throughout her life, including the way she tackled her long illness. Thank you Barbara

Name: Ian Hawkes