"I remember the first time we had him over for dinner," says Rushcliffe MP Ruth Edwards, reflecting on a "daunting" period upon being elected to sit on Ken Clarke's seat. "After he left my husband turned around to me and said: 'We've just had Ken Clarke round.' We cooked lamb shank for him. It was nice to have him round," she added.
Mrs Edwards superseded Lord Clarke, former father of the House of Commons and political "titan", in the 2019 General Election. Lord Clarke had represented his Rushcliffe constituents since 1970.
This was until a tumultuous period in politics led to his whip being stripped by Boris Johnson's Government. The events at the time were described by Mr Clarke as nothing short of "extraordinary".
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Mrs Edwards entered the world of politics in 2017, having grown up in Bristol and having worked in cybersecurity in London. She failed to gain much ground as the 2017 election candidate in Ceredigion, Wales, a constituency which hadn't been held by the Conservatives since 1874.
She says they "did not expect to win", but it was here Mrs Edwards met her husband, Owen, the local Conservative association chairman. She was later drawn to Nottinghamshire in 2019 by Mr Clarke's politics. Today she lives near Rushcliffe's Hickling village with three alpacas called Wilbur, Vera and Florence and two donkeys, Sgt Wilson and Godfrey, who are "on good form and haven't escaped this week".
"Ken and I come from a fairly similar wing of the [Conservative Party]," she said. "Ken and I get on very well. I see him fairly regularly. He is on good form and enjoying his time in the House of Lords."
This adoration first became evident in the run up to the General Election in 2019 when Mr Clarke gave Mrs Edwards his blessing. Nevertheless, Mrs Edwards said standing for a seat once dominated by the Father of the House was nothing short of daunting.
"Any sensible person would feel daunted being elected as a new MP and representing, in my case, roughly 78,000 constituents. But obviously that is more so when you are stepping into the shoes of somebody who has been a titan of British politics," she said.
"He is probably the best know politician of his generation apart from the Prime Ministers. Ken and I have always got on really well. He has been of great support to me. He has been really kind and it is great being able to chat to him about stuff."
While their politics did perhaps align, Mrs Edwards laughed and said his old office had undergone a "bit of a refurb" since moving in. Mr Clarke had also been a prominent Europhile, arguing the case for the European Union, or at the very least remaining in the Common Market.
And his disdain for the contemporary Conservative Party's deeper venture into right-wing politics was no secret. This, according to Mr Clarke, was what he liked about Mrs Edwards. They also agreed on Brexit, at first, but Mrs Edwards today believes she would potentially vote to leave if she had the chance again.
"Brexit was the big issue at the last election and I did not want to go round pretending I came into politics to deliver Brexit because I didn't," she added. "But I was perfectly happy to support Brexit and the Prime Minister because that was the very clear choice of the nation in the referendum.
"If we were to have a referendum again I'm not sure I would vote to remain because I don't think the EU has really proved itself through the Covid crisis to its members and I think we did rather better being out of it." Perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of her job in Mr Clarke's shoes was gaining the trust of his dear constituents. So how were they reassured she could deliver?
"I love meeting and talking to constituents," she said. "It's a wonderful variety. The thing I do mostly when I talk to people is listen."
Her priorities today consist of improving rail connections and services at Radcliffe-on-Trent, backing the police and conducting crime surveys across the borough and campaigning for a new health centre in East Leake. Mrs Edwards has also been working with Nicola Brindley, a Rushcliffe resident who supports survivors of domestic abuse.
Ms Brindley was honoured by the mayor of Rushcliffe and has been awarded an MBE for her work in establishing 'J9', after Janine Mundy was murdered almost two decades ago by her estranged husband. Mrs Edwards says there are hopes to open 'J9' safe spaces in every village across Rushcliffe.
Tackling flooding "became a huge issue" as she became the MP for Rushcliffe. Heavy rainfall had exposed the borough's vulnerability to flooding back in 2020, when water poured off the A46 and flooded villages including Cropwell Butler.
"Those are the issues that have shaped my work in the House of Commons," she says, but are her constituents convinced? "To be honest I think we will have to wait until the next election," she added.
"Things have changed since Ken was the MP, he was a fantastic MP for many years and really did revolutionise the role, he started case works and MPs intervening when their constituents couldn't access public services. I always try and be very straight with people.
"There is a real danger politicians can over-promise. I have said I will try and campaign for a new health centre in East Leake and bother absolutely everybody who I can. At the end of the day I have to work with other authorities. It is not just up to me where funding goes."
Mr Clarke has before spoken openly of his displeasure in the direction of the Conservative Party under Prime Minister Boris Johnson's leadership. Most recently he commented on the 'party gate' scandal which enveloped Downing Street and said it would further erode trust in politicians.
Mrs Edwards however remains confident in her party and its leadership. "We've had a global pandemic and, as a result of that, we have had an energy crunch and we've had supply chain and labour market disruption," she added. "Now Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine is exuberating a lot of those issues.
"But I am delighted at a lot of the focus there has been on increasing Government investment in regions. Investment around things like the Freeport and Integrated Rail Plan. I do think [Parkway] is better.
"The issue with Toton is it just would not have cut journey times. Trains are going straight into Nottingham which is far more convenient."
