I was an only child brought up in the late 1940s on an isolated croft, miles from the nearest town. None of my age lived nearby until I turned eighteen, when the Smyths and their twins, Brenda and Brian, moved into the area. Brian joined an all-boys class, while Brenda joined the co-ed class I was in. Indeed, she and I shared a desk, which was good for me because we were an academic match and fared far better together tha...

I was never the brightest candle in the box. In today’s world, I would be diagnosed with some sort of ism, but in the 1950s, there were no such understandings. I was just considered to be dim and stupid. So, teachers did not bother with me, as in their ‘supportive’ words of the time, 'you will never amount to anything'. In addition, I was shunned by the other girls in school who did not want to associate with a simpleton....

I was born in 1955 and raised on a croft in the North of Scotland. The nearest neighbours with kids were several miles away, but I never had the chance to mix with them because my parents were old-school and kept to themselves. I was generally well cared for by my parents. Still, following the customs of the time, I was there to be seen, not heard, never talked to other than to be given orders, and certainly not shown ope...