Care business directors Tracey Hudson and Martina Taylor were the envy of their colleagues after being invited to an event at Westminster.

For also at the special gathering was football hero Geoff Hurst, who scored a hat trickfor England in the World Cup final in 1966.

Mrs Hudson and Mrs Taylor of 1st Care at Home (IOM) Ltd had been invited to London to a Parliamentary Review Gala at the Houses of Parliament.

The gala provided 1st Care with the opportunity to represent home care in the Isle of Man and meet with other domiciliary care companies based in the UK, all of which had been recognised for their excellence in care.

Both women commented how honoured they were to be in attendance at an event such as this with the guest speaker Sir Geoff Hurst OBE who they said provided an inspiring and motivating speech relating to man management and team work.

Mrs Hudson said that their colleagues were feeling pretty envious that they had seen the soccer legend.

She said: ’He was an extremely eloquent speaker and was very good. We were impressed.’

But Hurst was not the only well known face to attend.

The prestigious event was hosted by British broadcaster and newspaper columnist Julia Hartley-Brewer.

Chaired by former MPs Lord Pickles and Lord Blunkett, The Parliamentary Review is a series of independent publications, which aims to share best practice among policy makers and business leaders.

Mrs Hudson said the Review’s aim is to foster communication between individuals who ’silently keep the country going’. It demonstrates that triumph is not in isolation and that difficulties need not be faced alone.’

The Parliamentary Review is a platform for innovative and progressive UK businesses and schools to be heard, address the challenges they face and share their insight.

1st Care at Home is a domiciliary care company based at Union Mills.

Mrs Hudson said: ’It was a wonderful event and we were the only island company that was invited.

’It gave us the chance to meet people from all over the British Isles.’

Mrs Hudson is director and owner of the business with her husband Juan, while Mrs Taylor, as well as being a director, is care manager.

Mrs Hudson was full of praise for the team of carers who go into people’s homes across the island.

She said: ’It’s a 365 days of the year business but we have a great team who often have to deal with many challenges.’

The company’s work is featured in the Parliamentary Review publication.

In it Mrs Hudson discusses why face-to-face training is a key aspect of its approach and explains how this has enabled the team to deliver 24/7 care to more than 60 service users.