My early education was very disrupted due to the frequent moves and I think I went to 13 different infant and junior schools before becoming settled at Pendleton High School for Girls in Salford. We arrived back in the UK just in time for me to sit the 11 plus exam, so that would be 1963 or 1964. I came ‘borderline’ in that exam and had to sit another set of exams which I passed.

I have never understood how or why Ron and Joan chose a house in Park Road, Salford; it was a large house just on the border of Eccles and very near Hope Hospital. It was big, old and very scary. Ron was working at Granada film studios as a film cameraman and drove into work so I’m sure we could have lived somewhere nicer. Because of the nature of Ron’s work I met some ‘interesting’ characters:- Charles Haughtrey stands out because he used to like visiting our house to play with our dolls house and tea set! Ron told me about the time he was filming at Margaret Rutherford’s house – he needed the bathroom and when he put the toilet seat up, written around the edge were the words – ‘Hurrah! There’s a man in the house!’ Ron would also tell us about how he would film rides at Blackpool whilst being strapped to the outside of the roller coaster and hang upside down from helicopters. I’m sure he preferred that, to being shot down whilst parachuting. He was a war hero and a very courageous man. I can never understand how such a man could be so afraid of my mother.

This is probably not unique but, I actually dreaded the school holidays. Joan had got used to having servants around and that meant that I became those servants – skirting boards were a major issue, being inspected daily! I dreaded being sent out to get the shopping as Joan would scrutinise the receipts, and count the change, if there was any discrepancy I was either sent back to sort it out or I would make it up out of the pocket money Ron gave me.

Every day was filled with fear:- what have I missed, what should I have done, was the ironing done to Joan’s standards, were the clothes put away correctly? Of course everything I did was wrong; “Your head will never save your legs!” was a frequent put down, if I didn’t carry enough crockery from the kitchen to the cupboard in the morning room; the ironing was neither “done nor left alone”. It was my job to wash up, look after John and my sisters, clean the house and I still had school work to get through.

When I got home from school I had to look after my siblings, set the table ready for tea and on no account was I to play with anyone. I did that one afternoon and was in serious trouble because I hadn’t set the table! After tea I had to wash the pots and then set the table in the morning room ready for breakfast next day. Of course I still had my homework to get through and by the time that was finished I was shattered.