This is an extraordinary story of a young married couple who, in answering a knock at their door just before Christmas in 1975, welcomed in a stranger, a homeless man with learning difficulties. And he never left.

It's a hugely moving and inspirational story, and a real example to us all in showing compassion and hospitality - but what an amazing couple.

I've been familiar with the work of Rob and Dianne Parsons for some time. Rob founded an organisation called Care for the Family and I interviewed Dianne for a magazine article a few years ago. So I'd got a distant recollection that they shared their home with a man who wasn't a member of the family. I was interested then to discover this memoir explaining the details of their relationship with Ronnie Lockwood.

Rob Parsons had met Ronnie briefly when they were both children attending Sunday School, but shortly afterwards Ronnie was sent away and put into care. He had a terrible time, then at sixteen was told he was an adult and had to fend for himself.

As a young man with learning difficulties, he had no idea what to do. He became homeless. One Christmas, on discovering that his childhood friend lived nearby, with his new wife, he knocked on their door.

The couple intended giving him a bed for the night but he stayed with them for 45 years. He got a job as a binman, volunteered with his local church and homeless centre and became a much loved and appreciated member of the family, helping Rob and Dianne in one of their darkest times. 

This is an amazing, beautiful story. I couldn't stop reading it and was challenged by each turn of the page. What astonishing generosity this couple showed, and what richness Ronnie brought to their lives and others he met.