I married my first husband when I was eighteen and was I naive! After the birth of our first son we went to Alsager. My husband joined the history department of Alsager Teacher Training College. I made friends with women who were a seminal influence on my life. I learnt that women could have children and a career. I learnt to think for myself, politically. And, what was initiated by my aunt, a love of theatre, developed under the guidance of Beth Lister. If it hadn't been for her I wouldn't have gone to college when we moved to Liverpool to do a degree in drama, dance and education. In Liverpool I started going to plays, in earnest, and The Liverpool Everyman exploded my understanding of what theatre was. Alan Durband, Chairman of The Everyman, also a huge influence, asked me to be on the Board od Directors. Tis period of my life coincided with my starting to write. I took student impros and developed them into performances which were performed at The Edinburgh Fringe festival. Two were Pick of the Day in The Scotsman. Also during this period I joined CND and went on demos and marches.  Took early retirement as I wanted to concentrate on writing. Col, second husband, and I moved to France. I wrote, he gardened, organically. We found ourselves in a Lets society, so our small income went a long way.   Major influences re my writing, Carol Shields, Ann Tyler and Anita Shrieve, novels, and John Godber, Dario Fo and companies like Trestle Theatre company, and Gekko re plays.  

Degree in Drama, dance and Education. B.Ed.