My parents were not perfect by any means who is? They were human like everyone else, but I have to say that they were fantastic parents, who did everything they could for my sister and myself and gave us a good life and very many happy memories.

They met at the outbreak of World War 2, at the local cinema. Apparently my Father lost his treasured cigarette lighter as he ran to catch his last bus home after he had made sure that my Mother was safely on her own bus. They were very different characters, but I can't help feeling that this was a good thing because they complemented each other.

My Father had a hard life as a child. His parents were very poor and his Father, who had lost a leg during the first world war, was cold and often cruel. Despite his bad start in life, he was very outgoing and charismatic people were drawn to him and loved his cheery personality and jokey manner. My Mother, on the other hand, had an idyllic childhood, the youngest of five children, she was close to her Father and spoiled by her Mother and older siblings. She was quiet and shy and had given up her factory job to play Mum' whilst her parents and the rest of the family went out to work. She was one of life's nurturers.

Shortly after their meeting, my Father joined the navy. Although he always said that his time at sea was one of the best experiences of his life, he missed my Mother a great deal and they kept in touch when they could and finally married at the end of the war. They had little money and lived with my Mother's parents and her bachelor brother for the first nine years of their marriage. After seven years, I came along, which was a shock to them as they had been trying unsuccessfully to start a family for years. They reveled in their new role as parents and Dad worked long hours to save up enough money to buy his own home something he always took pride in, as the rest of the family had rented homes.

My child hood was fantastic. We moved to our own house when I was 2 and when I think back, I just remember lots of love, fun, caring and happiness. My Mother and I spending all day together, going to the shops, visiting my Aunts, watching TV and listening to the radio together and my Father, coming home from work on his bicycle and allowing me to sit next to him and helping him to eat his meal by stealing a slice of meat, or a mouthful of potato.! At bedtime there would be a card game or a story and if I woke in the night, I would creep into bed with them

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