I flipped through the notebook and found half-finished poems, some drawings and a folded piece of yellowing paper which I unfolded carefully as it felt fragile. It appeared to be a receipt from a jewelers 'C.J. Tindall & Son of Hatton Garden London for an Art Deco old cut diamond engagement ring.

My brother – younger by three years and I were spending the day sorting out my granddad Joe's little terraced house on the outskirts of Manchester. Sadly we hadn't known him very well just a handful of visits over the years. Mum had been part of a large noisy family; seven boys and two girls and she had been the brightest of the bunch. She had won a scholarship to a posh girl's boarding school in Suffolk and very rarely went home for a visit. Gran – her Mum- suffered with 'her chest' and tragically passed away at only forty-five. So Granddad had lived alone for years until he tumbled from his bone-shaker bicycle and cracked his head on the curb and that was the end of him! His house had been empty for over a year now and I'm not quite sure how my brother and I were nominated to empty it, but we're here now so might as well get on with it! Uncle Sammy the youngest of the brothers and closest to our Mum had promised us a slap- up lunch at the local Pub near the canal as a thank you so we were chucking everything out of the bedroom window straight into the skip. If I'm honest there is very little to sort out. Granddad lived a frugal life after Granny died and most of what's left is either broken or too tatty to recycle.

I popped the receipt into the little zipper compartment in my handbags safe keeping and forgot all about it.

Lunch was glorious and much needed as we hadn't bothered with breakfast. That evening we met up with a whole bunch of Mum's rellies and then returned to the local Travelodge at about 11.00on wishing everybody all the best and promising not to leave it so long next time – the way you do!

I kind of forgot all about the receipt tucked away safely in my bag until a couple of weeks later when I was looking for an emery board and rediscovered it.

I have no idea why, but I decided to go and have a look around Hatton Garden on my next day off, but I did and the shop was still there! I warily pushed open the plate glass door with the name C.J. Tindall & Son engraved in gold on the top half.

"Good Morning Madam and how many we help you?" asked the young woman with panda eyes and poker straight blue/black hair.

"Hi," I responded, "I was wondering what you thought about this?" and I slid the receipt across the polished counter tears her.

"Hello there" and a man in a rather rumpled shirt and loosened grey and blue fine stripe tie popped his head out from behind a display of ridiculously sparkly bangles.

"Come through my dear" and he beckons me to follow.

"Thanks Laurie." He smiles at the young woman as she sinks gracefully back into her pearl grey leather chair and reaches for her Barbie pink glittery mobile.

"This way. We're in here. Please do take a seat. Coffee, tea, mineral water, biscuit perhaps?"

"No I'm fine thanks." I hear myself reply.

"I am so sorry to stare but it's uncanny!"

I raise an eyebrow

"You my dear are the absolute doppelgänger of your Grandmother Susan! I can see that you are looking a little confused, so if you can spare the time to listen I will share with you the strange tale that has lived with me for most of my life."

He began at the beginning in 1979 when he left school at 16 and came to work here right in the center of London's diamond and jewelry trade. He said that he didn't usually have anything to do with the customers in the beginning, just swept up, ran errands and made tea; general dogsbody. Occasionally he would answer the phone or meet and greet if all of the assistants were busy.

On the 5th June 1979 a couple walked in holding hands and looking particularly apprehensive. The youngish man pointed to a particular art deco old cut engagement ring. In fact the very ring itemized in your receipt.

"I don't understand?" I said

"Please be patient and just let me finish the tale." So he continued to recount how he had unlocked the glass cabinet removing the ring and it's little purple silken cushion. Locked the door – just in case – and placed the ring before the couple.

"May she try it on?" the youngish man had enquired.

His beaming soon to be fiancé slipped it onto the ring finger of her left hand and it slid down perfectly as if it had been hand crafted especially for her.

"We'll take it!" The youngish man had said grinning from ear to ear as he removed his bulging wallet from the back pocket of his faded jeans.

I carefully counted the notes and deposited them safely in the till. I then popped the stunning ring into a dove grey heart shaped box, placed it in one of our little gold and white bags and presented it to him.

"NO!" said his young lady loudly.

"NO! You must keep it here. I can never wear it! It is so perfect, too beautiful for my stubby little fingers."

Well….Her youngish man pleaded with her as did I. Not that I knew anything of love, commitment and such things being only sixteen, but there was no convincing her.

The shop manager reluctantly agreed to keep the stunning diamond ring in the shop safe until such time as the young woman felt ready to wear it I can still remember him writing out the receipt with his fountain pen – real ink! Proper smart it was his pen – polished gold and fine nibbed. He also issued another receipt stating that the ring was being held at the shop until such times…….

As the couple turned to leave the young woman had stopped and said

"You'll know her when you see her!"

"Who?" I had asked naively.

"My Granddaughter. She will be the mirror image of me and her name will be,"

"Kate" I said, "My name is Kate."

"Are you sure you don't want that cup of tea now my dear? We've got an unopened packet of Chocolate"

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