I think it was 1997 when I first met Petra as she joined our team at a translation agency in Leeds. We soon became good friends and spent a lot of time with each other outside of work as well as at work (although if I remember rightly, I left the agency not long after Petra began there). We had many enjoyable nights out at the pubs around Leeds University and Headingley - e.g. The Fenton, Pack Horse, Royal Park, Skyrack (which Petra affectionately called Skylark) & The Original Oak - sometimes with our respective partners Andy and Rick and sometimes with other work colleagues or friends. We shared a love of shopping (especially for shoes) and chocolate. Petra and Rick then went off on their adventures in Asia the following year, and not long after their return, Andy and I decided to move to Germany for work reasons. It was something we had planned, but I remember feeling so sad at leaving Leeds and especially our good friends Petra and Rick. Nevertheless, we kept in touch over the following years that we spent in Germany and had many wonderful visits to their house, firstly in their rented accommodation in Headingley, and then to their home in Horsforth, which they were delighted to find. I remember Petra was so pleased and happy with their house there and said she hoped they would never move. We were always pampered on our trips there, with Petra going to a lot of trouble to cook us delicious vegetarian meals and home-baked cakes & biscuits, and keeping us well supplied with wine and beer! We also had some memorable nights out at the "Mexican place" and Petra's favourite Thai restaurant in Headingley. We did have occasional meet-ups in other places as well. One year, while we were living in Germany, we went to Prague for New Year with some German friends and met Petra and Rick, who were staying with Marcela. It was fantastic to be shown around the city by Petra and Rick and see various places we would never have found as tourists. We had more than one trip to a pub near Wenceslas Square, where they served delicious fried cheese and cauliflower, which we would never have been able to order ourselves as tourists! As always, we had great laughs (especially, if I remember rightly, about Marcela's then-boyfriend who had a limited sense of humour!) Another memorable meet-up we had was in Nottingham, I think in the summer of 2001. Andy and I had arranged to go there for an open-air music festival with my cousin Richard from Glasgow and some of Andy’s friends from Worcester. Petra and Rick had planned to come to Nottingham for the day, but we had such a good time (with possibly a few lemonades too many) that they ended up missing their train and sharing the cheap student accommodation we had rented for the night! A good time was had by all, and my cousin Richard instantly loved Petra and Rick - he only met them once, but still always asks about them. It was always clear to us that Petra and Rick were keen to have a family, and we were delighted to hear that Petra was expecting Misa. We were even more delighted and honoured to be asked to be Misa's godparents. It was a joy to go and visit them after Misa, and later, Toni were born, and Petra was so proud of them both. She was absolutely devoted to the children and Rick. It was so interesting for us too to see how much the children had grown up since our last visit. Despite now having a family to look after, Petra still went out of her way to make us as comfortable and well-fed as possible when we were in Horsforth. It was so nice to sit in their living room at night and watch comedy programmes, while drinking wine and chatting about life. Sometimes, Rick and Andy would look after the children on a Saturday to let Petra and I go on a shopping trip. It always involved a break for a hot chocolate and cake at some point, which we both enjoyed immensely. So, it was with great sadness to hear about Petra's illness last year. I still feel very sad at her loss, but I hope now that Petra is at peace, no longer suffering, and watching over us all. I feel very lucky to have known Petra as she was one of the most kind, generous, intelligent and fun-loving people I have ever met. I am also very grateful to her for introducing us to the magic of Czech culture – we still watch the fairytale DVD of “Three Wishes for Cinderella” every Christmas and think of her. I miss her very much and will always remember her as one of the best friends I ever had in life.