Last week would have marked Lara’s 50th birthday. Lara, who passed away in 2020, was my fiancée and a big part of the Radio Woking family. Her Sunday programme, Lara on Sunday, still bears her name to this day.

I wanted to honour Lara as a person behind the Covid statistic, and having her name on the radio show each week gives me a chance to reflect and continue her legacy. When I’m asked, “Why is the show called Lara on Sunday?”, I get to talk about Lara and the happy times we shared.

Lara and I met in what could only be described as a fairy tale. She saw a poster in her hometown of Epsom advertising the Christmas light switch-on, but with no mention of who was flicking the switch. Being the “Twitter Queen”, she tweeted the organisers saying that if they hadn’t got anybody, she’d be free. To her surprise, they came back and offered her the gig to switch on the lights in Epsom in 2014! If you don’t ask, you don’t get — and Lara always found these kinds of opportunities in life.

This moment also set the scene for our first meeting. We had met online but hadn’t met in person yet. As it happened, one of Lara’s work colleagues was dating a fellow volunteer at the hospital radio station where I was at the time. Lara was reassured that meeting me was a safe option. I raced to Epsom, and we met on 20 November 2014 in Epsom marketplace. We hit it off straight away and went on to have six wonderful years together — buying a house, welcoming our cat Magic, and building a life together in Woking.

At the end of 2020, we both caught Covid. Lara was having trouble breathing, so in the middle of the night we called 111, and an ambulance took her to hospital to be checked out. Little did I know that would be the last time I would see her, as she passed away in hospital a few weeks later.

The last five years have been tough. I’ve slowly rebuilt my life and met Emma, who I’ve been with for a couple of years now — but Lara and her legacy remain important for me to honour.

On my Radio Woking Breakfast Show, I paid tribute to Lara on what would have been her 50th birthday by choosing three songs:

– Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles — a song we both loved and which became “our” song – When Will I Be Famous by Bros — Lara adored ‘80s music, and in 2018 we went to a Bros gig at the O2 – Snowman by Sia — a Christmas song Lara once told me she loved. I remember it being played at her memorial service in 2021

So, happy heavenly 50th birthday, Lara — I hope you approved of those song choices.

You can listen to my shows on Radio Woking: Sundays 9am–noon and Wednesdays 7–9am. Send me an email at [email protected] or a voice note via www.speakpipe.com/jonandrews