However, the days of enjoying their disposable income were rudely interrupted by my arrival in May 1973. The family was made complete very quickly after this in August 1974 when my sister Alex was born. For many women at this time, domestic duties would have meant the end of a promising career or at least a break long enough to slow her down considerably. She was proud of her talents though, proud to be able to contribute significantly to our quality of life and she was strong enough to stand up to the constraints of society’s expectations of gender roles. It is the strength of this generation of women that provided choice to today’s women. I know that meant a lot to my mother. By now, my parents had given up city life. They left Sheffield and moved to the quiet village of Barkston where my mother had grown up. We were all very lucky to live near my mother’s parents and they looked after Alex and I a great deal in the 1970s. I know I am not alone when I talk about the happy memories in and around Rosemarie’s parents’ house, The Plough. Like all families, some of our best times came on holidays. We had a number of memorable caravan holidays in Low Skirlington, near Hornsea, for several years; then on the Lincolnshire coast at Anderby Creek. We also were given ‘cultural enrichment tours’ of France, Spain and Germany. We had many fantastic holidays in Ireland enjoying the wonderful hospitality of family across Navan, Galway and Mayo. Later, when my sister and I had left home, my parents had some famous times in and around the Mediterranean on different cruises. When we were very small, Rosemarie decided to do her ‘A’ levels on a part-time basis. Studying at Grantham College opened doors as her intelligence was spotted by a teacher, later to become college principal, who encouraged her to try teaching. Following achieving excellent ‘A’ level results, she completed her Cert. Ed. and began teaching caring subjects: Pre-nursing, Human Physiology, BTEC Childcare and Development. I will speak later about the wonderful care she received during the latter stages of her illness, but we were so proud that she had put so much back into that distinguished profession. It was truly remarkable how many nurses came in to care for Rosemarie and soon realised they were helping the person who taught them their trade! She was not finished there, though. During the 1980s she studied for her degree part-time. One day a week for four years she would set another plate spinning. When she finally obtained an upper second BSc, she had far more letters after her name that she had in it!