A widow has taken her husband's ashes to a Wetherspoon pub to fulfill her last promise to him. Irene Henderson, 54, and Adrian Barratt, 62, set themselves the challenge of visiting every Wetherspoon pub in the country. Ade heartbreakingly apologised to Irene for not being able to continue on their quest before he died.
Former railway signaller Ade had already visited 1,000 Wetherspoons across the UK and Irene has now surpassed his total.
Irene told the Daily Star: "Ade apologised just before he died saying he was sorry he wouldn’t be with me to do my 1000th. To cheer him up I said I would take him along and do my final Ade at the bar pic. He laughed even though it was a difficult time. So I kept to my word."
Joined by fellow Spoonies she carried an urn of Ade's ashes as well as a framed photo of him to pub number 1,001. The London and North Western inside Birmingham New Street train station hosted the emotional occasion, which coincided with Irene's friend hitting a milestone of their own.
Irene who works as an administrator, said: "One guy was celebrating his 500th Spoons. When a new Spoons opens, if you let others from the group know they will do it at the same time.
"It’s like having a huge family as no matter where you go there is always friends from the group that will pop in (especially since Ade died) so I am not on my own."
Irene has found a support group in fellow Wetherspoon fans (Image: Irene Henderson)
The couple first met at the now-closed The Thomas Telford in their hometown. "When Ade was alive I used to always take a pic of him at the bar for a laugh and make a funny comment on it," Irene said. And Ade got a send off at their Spoons local, The Wheatsheaf where Irene organised his wake.
