Mr Fenwick stepped forward. He didn't use the microphone. He had a quiet voice, but everyone went silent to hear it.

“The donor asked me to read a few words first,” he said.

He unfolded a piece of paper.

“This hall is for everyone in Little Hadleigh. The toddlers and the teenagers. The pensioners and the people who need the food bank on Wednesdays. It must never charge them a penny. It is not a monument to anyone with money. It is a gift from someone who was given a great deal, and believes it should be shared.”

He folded the paper.

“The donor has chosen the name of the hall in memory of the man who made these doors.” He reached up and pulled the velvet cloth.

The carved sign above Arthur's doors said:

THE ARTHUR PRITCHARD HALL.

The whole crowd went quiet.

Felicity was staring at the sign. Her mouth had fallen slightly open.

Then Mr Fenwick said, “The donor has agreed, today, to allow me to say who she is.”

He turned and looked straight at me, standing at the back in my good blue dress.

“Mrs Joan Pritchard,” he said.