I think of Alice as full of loving energy and energetic loving. I arrived at Rugby School in 1975 to teach English, a young and single man who knew noone. Rugby was a rather cold community. However, on the other side of the wall from the rather dank flat I was awarded (it had a deep end and a shallow end) lived Alice and Peter and their vigorous young family. I couldn't have been luckier. I was immediately invited round and was lucky enough to become a regular - partly because Peter needed someone to go to the pub with and, for good horticultural reasons, pee on the artechoke by the front door on our return. Alice had already coined the word 'joyless' to describe the school community and she knew what JOY meant. When you entered the Wilkes house you could feel the warmth in every sense - even if you did get a welcoming head butt from Ollie in his nappy. It was a warm, family island in an austere surrounding.

With three young children Alice was busy but that didn't stop her from developing many enthusiasms and drawing others in. A lot of jumbling went on with Anne from upstairs. She made clothes, grew things in the garden, had a passion for clogs and made food for the many visitors. I remember being introduced to biltong from her home country and farty beans from Iran (that may not be the proper name but Alice didn't care about "proper"). My abiding memory is that it was a happy house, the children were free to be themselves and Alice was at the heart of it all with Peter alongside. Outside the home she gave of her creativity teaching art to the young offenders in the prison just outside the town.

Our lives have taken very different directions since then and, very sadly for me, we've only caught up occasionally if we happened to be in the same country at the same time. However, you only have to read an Alice Wilkogram to realise how many directions her energies went, and always full of love and enthusiasm. You could feel it in her voice, vibrant and expressive and above all pleased for whatever was good in your life. Laughter came easily to her. Thank you, Alice.

With love,

Colin