That's how three foster parents said people viewed them when they learned they acted as surrogate parents to other people’s children back in July 1985.

The three are Rayme Singleton, from Donalcloney, Rosin McAlinden, from the Castor Bay Road, and youth club leader Ivan Callender.

They were all members of the Lurgan and Banbridge Foster Care Group which was founded by the parents and social workers involved to promote foster care in the area, and to act as friendly back-up service for the parents.

Rayme was the group’s chairman and Rosin the treasurer. And, if in some people's eyes, these good people along with their spouses were thought to be mad, then they would be the last to apologise for it.

For as far as they and the other foster parents in the area were concerned they absolutely adore children, even someone else’s, and even though they knew they may have to say goodbye to them at any time.

The three couples had quite a number of fostering experiences behind them. Rayme Singleton was perhaps the ‘mother’ of them all.

She and her husband Neill were at the time foster parents of two long-stay children. Children who the social workers expect to be fostered for quite a spell.

They took the then 13-year-old sister with her brother aged about 10, but they had also been foster parents to 11 other babies and two older children.

The children’s ages ranged from just 13 days old to nearly 11 years old.