Early in the morning on the 26th May, 1946 the lightning & thunder shook the cottage in Dartmouth, Devon, England, the wolves howled & I was born. Mum saw that as some sort of omen which turned out to be true. I was destined to be different. My father even spelled my name incorrectly adding an extra ‘i’ to Sandra. The result was that I can never buy a mug or pen with my name already on.

Having a love/hate relationship with my elder brother resulted in many near death experiences. Once he force fed me some sort of glitter then sprinkled it all over the outside. Poor mum had to present this glittering toddler to the hospital. The first of many visits. Moving to London didn’t change my thirst for adventure & I nearly drowned in the Regents Park canal. I tried to ‘bunk’ into the London Zoo and was caught on a branch & left hanging by my knickers. My aforementioned brother decamped the scene. I had 2 other brothers & a sister who also managed to bring chaos into my life.

Much to everyone’s surprise, not least my teacher I passed the 11+ and progressed to High school. I must have developed my social conscience here because I spent more time standing outside the headmaster’s office than actually learning anything. It was usually for standing up against bullying by classmates or teachers. However some kindred spirits remain friends to this very day.

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