Hope house at 21: Kathleen in tune to be inspiration to all

And I would have loved to have been there on that night in New York's Times Square when Kath hailed one of the iconic city's famous yellow cabs and thought (or maybe even shouted) "Yes!"

Because for her at that moment it seemed that the years which had partly drained her of energy, of self-esteem and brought more than their fair share of disappointment, had taken their toll. And for good.

A single mum since son Kevin was just two, Kath, who lives near Newport, had a fulfilling job in banking which she loved. She says: "I really didn't want to stop working, I loved my job."

But a combination of circumstances saw her taking retirement at a time when she would have been happier carrying on working and she found herself doing what many people dread – having nothing to get up and go out for.

• Are you raising money for Hope House or have a story to tell about the hospice?

• Shirley Tart would love to hear from you. You can email her at shirleyhopehouse@shropshirestar.co.uk and if you have a favourite picture we may be able to use, send us that as well.

• Don’t forget to also add details like full name, address, phone number and email address.

• See all our cpverage of Hope House's 21st anniversary year at shropshirestar.com/news/hope-house-at-21

She says: "Nobody wanted to employ me. It felt like nobody wanted me."

However, this lady is hardly one for sitting around feeling sorry for herself, it doesn't suit her.

And on one of her ground-breaking trips to America – she just decided one day she would get out there and conquer it so went and bought a ticket – she got into conversation with a fellow traveller and by the time they landed, it was like they'd also bonded and Kath says with a chuckle: "It was as though I was finding myself again. Around that time, my dad said 'Kath's come back to us'."

And it all began with a tune or two. Having always been fascinated by them, when she was 55, she bought herself a music box and says: "I started collecting them 12 years ago when I had left the bank and retired."

Now, that beautiful box with its internal floral lid heads up an extraordinary list of 33 examples of some of the most interesting, charming and rare pieces which Kath can find – usually by trawling eBay. And the latest treasure is an 1880 box for which she paid £850 – way above her original budget – and which has now set about restoring. She laughed: "When I saw how they were really bidding, I thought I'm staying in there."

How she has moved on from that time when life seemed to have gone tough all of a sudden. Now, she is a member of the Music Box Society of Great Britain, the British organ Grinders' Association, the Fair Organ Preservation Society and the Mechanical Organ Owners Society.

Kath decided that she wanted to help others more and started fundraising for various charities and causes starting in 2010 with Marie Curie.

Since then she has appealed to keep the air ambulance flying, for Severn Hospice and for Hope House with annual contributions now soaring well above the £1,000 mark.

And this year as it celebrates its 21st anniversary, Kath has once again chosen to raise money for the Hope House children's respite hospice which – with its sister hospice at Ty Gobaith in Conwy – provides such irreplaceable care. Its range of services for life-limited children and their families grows year by year and includes bereavement counselling, available to any family after a child dies – whether or not they have previously been cared for at Hope House – or children who have lost someone close to them suddenly or unexpectedly.

But it costs. And Hope House needs an annual income of more than £6 million to continue meeting the needs of all those children and families who rely on them.

With so many worthy charities who are in the same way thrilled to be supported, Kath also hopes that as Christmas approaches all of us will dig just a bit deeper to help change lives.

That's the sort of lady she is.

When she is doing her money-raising talks, she takes along a selection of her boxes (and perhaps a few monkeys), doesn't charge a fee but accepts donations for the charities.

Like I said, an inspiration.

l Contact Kath for charity bookings at antiquekate@hotmail.com