Ray and Frank

When I had the Cross Keys pub in Totternhoe, there was one couple I looked forward to seeing probably more than any other. Ray & Carol were just the most perfect customers any publican could wish for. They were polite, friendly, interesting and funny. Often, when they came for a meal I would go to take their order and they would simply say "We'll let you choose for us". Then they would let me choose the wine for them. Then, at the end of the night, Ray never asked for the bill, he would just give me a blank cheque and let me fill it in. Not that they were rich or showing off, they just trusted me to look after them.
Many people assumed they were married, but they didn't actually get married until Ray was in his late 70s. Everyone knew they were going on holiday to the U S A. When they came back from their holiday Carol came in the pub. "Hello Carol...." I began, but before I could continue, she (jokingly) said "It's 'Mrs Foster' to you." Possibly the most original way of announcing that they had got married.
They has got married in a registry office in Las Vegas and spoke so highly of the way they were treated that Jane & I decided to get married there ourselves - if it was good enough for Ray and Carol, it was good enough for anyone.
Everyone always wanted Ray to join their quiz team and I always thought that, if I ever went on 'Who wants to be a millionaire' Ray would definitely be my 'phone a friend'.
So I was very saddened to learn that Ray had passed away over Christmas. I guess he must have been in his late 80s, but I never thought of him as being anywhere near that age.
Heartfelt sympathies to Carol.
It was only a few weeks before that I had learned of the death of another friend from The Cross Keys, Frank Pulay. He had come to Britain from Hungary after the revolution and, perhaps because of his accent, was the only person who could get away with swearing in my pub. He used to say it was 'Shakespeare English' whenever I pulled him up on it, but I'm sure such words didn't crop up in any Shakespeare I read.
His gift to me was that I now know how to call people some quite obscene things in Hungarian. Useful.
Frank and Ray were both tremendous characters and I will always have many treasured memories of them both. R.I.P.