I WAS thinking recently that I am having a bit of a difficult time at the moment, when a quiet voice inside my head reminded me 'get real Margo, just be honest you have the life of Riley, compared to the hard times your mum and grandma had.'

My mum was one of 14 fourteen children, all living off one wage, so you can imagine that money was very short, as it always was in my family.

It meant all socks had to be darned or have new feet knitted on to them, torn clothing repaired, patched, shortened, or hems let down as the case may be.

Nothing was thrown away, old bread was made into a bread and butter pudding or fried in with the bacon to help bulk out the breakfast, and left over vegetables and potatoes ended up as 'tater ash'. Yes, nothing was wasted.

Now don't you think for one moment that I am saying I had a hard childhood, no not at all, for nothing would be further from the truth.

There was always lots of love and laughter and you could always have a chip butty on one of my mum's home baked barm cakes if you felt a bit peckish.

I wish that I had understood just how hard life was for working class families back then, but I was young and happy and took it all for granted.

There was my mum running four or more looms, dad working a on a three shift pattern, uncle John sleeping on the sofa, and grandma coming to live with us.

But it all seemed perfectly normal, as most families seemed to be in a similar position.

In a few days I will hopefully see Janet when we will be finalising my 'bucket' trip, which is getting longer and starting to take in even more places, so is, I'm afraid, getting a little out of hand.

Andrew says I want my b****y head seeing to, as I have seen it all before and it will be very hard work.

I must admit that a nagging little voice in my head is beginning to agree with him, but I am ignoring it, as I am quite determined to go, even though that very disturbing tinnitus is bothering me at the moment.

Still, as my dad used to say 'does't tha not know lass, the best has yet to be'. Well, I am blooming hoping that he was right.