This is me, my first encounter with Watling Street after moving from Cwm Penmachno on August 10 1940.

I was 17 months old. I was to live at No 11 for the next 36 years. At that time I was the youngest of five children, two girls and three boys. In 1945 my mother gave birth at No 11 to another daughter.

No 11 had a name, "Berlin House", but since we were at war with Germany we were not allowed to mention it. My mother hated the name and always said that our house was No 11a Watling Street.

My mother kept bed and breakfast for several years and every year on the Eisteddfod weekend she would sell teas to earn extra money. Friday, Saturday and Sunday were spent helping and I earned a few tips.

My father worked in Parc Mine, then at the Dolgarrog Aluminium Works and after at the Llanrwst Gasworks, until he was made redundant at the age of 59. Too young to retire, he was employed by the council and worked as a refuse collector until he retired at the age of 70.

I can remember being allowed to start school at the age of three and a half. I was fortunate that the school was at the end of our street and therefore gained independence when I was very young. I was allowed to go without supervision, but my mother would stand on the doorstep and watch me walk down the street. I stayed at the secondary modern school until I was 15.

One positive memory was the fact that I won fourth place for writing a poem in the Eisteddfod Gwyl Dewi in 1953. I was quite disappointed as the poem had been good enough to be on the front page of the school magazine, but only good enough for fourth prize.

Not all of the children from school lived on Watling Street, some were from Back Watling, Wellington Place, Conwy Terrace, Victoria Terrace, Owens Terrace, Jones Terrace, Tan y Graig and some children who lived on the square, like the Fretwells.

The gang, as I remember, were Iris, Eleanor, Sylvia, John and Joe the twins. The others were older, Ann, Iola, Wilfred, Brian, Victor, Gwilym and Michael.

I was a member of the Band of Hope. We used to meet at the Church House, which was as the end of Watling Street. We were taught by a young curate and he used to lodge in the house next door to the Ashley's sweet shop.

I was also in two pantomime productions. The producer was Mrs Eddie Jones and the musical director was Mrs Gaitskell. All our families helped.

Since there was no television, on Sunday evenings, Mrs Jones would come to No 11 to play cards for pennies and we would all join in. We played until it was very late, 10 o'clock or even eleven. We would also meet on Grand National Day to select horses to put our money on. The gentlemen living across the road would take our bets. I can remember one year 40 horses were running and we decided to back the lot at sixpence each way, the cost was five shillings each. We won four and sixpence each, therefore losing sixpence.

The health clinic was where the school dentist would inspect our teeth. He was a butcher. He took out eight of my teeth at one time the day before our Sunday school trip to Rhyl. My mother had to take me to several doctors, but not one of them could stop my teeth from bleeding. I had, inserted into my mouth, plugs of cotton wool and corks! The nurse at the clinic was also the school nurse. On returning home she was called in and she and a doctor worked hard to stop the bleeding. I spent several days in bed and was fed glucose to help with my recovery. There was an enquiry and the dentist was not allowed to treat children again.