Oh the joy, the unspeakable joy of seeing my Island again. I have only found this site this evening, it is 11.pm and I should be in bed, but I am glued to my 'puter.

I lived on the Island starting in Sandown. We lived in the big house by the railway station owned at the time by the railway and run by a Mr and Mrs Warren, pop and aunty Warren, to me. The lane was mine, at that time my secret place. We then moved to Lake and mum ran a B&B on the cliff top. Then we moved to Cowes when I was about 5 and at the age of 8 we lived in St Marys Road number 56. Mum worked at the Fountain Hotel and I used to play in the back of the hotel with my china dog, dragging around on a piece of string, till its head broke. She also worked at the Globe and the Royal Yacht Squadron as a cook in all the places. The Fountain Hotel was then owned by the Coles family and I remember they had a daughter Ruth who gave me a tea set.

Then mum worked out at the Forest Site for Saunders Roe and was with them for years, I saw the rocket being built destined for Woomera, I can talk about it now, but at the time was sworn to strict secrecy!