I WOULD love to say that the birds are singing and the sun is shining but, alas and alack, they are not.

My cold is no better and I am absolutely fed up with coughing and sneezing and having to have a hanky permanently in my hand.

I can now understand why, as kids, we used our coat sleeves as a nose wiper; they are always at hand, if you get my meaning.

We were all talking the other day about the spending money we got as school kids. I got a penny, plus the secret odd halfpenny off my grandma.

This, plus the occasional odd copper or two I got from running errands for Mrs Riding and other neighbours, meant that if I could accumulate two pennies by Saturday, then the highlight of the week would be a trip to Blackburn market.

There, I would spend a pleasant half hour deciding what to buy off the stall where everything was priced at 2d or under.

It was a powerful feeling knowing that with my couple of coppers I could buy anything that I fancied from what was displayed before me. Even if there was nothing I really fancied - which was not very often - I still loved it.

For as many years as I can remember, a rather strange, round clock has hung, on a projecting arm, about two feet away from my bed head and I have no idea where it came from.

It does not work any more and I am always saying to myself that I will take it down to Eric's shop and get it repaired, but never have for some reason or another. I have decided, though, that today is the day.

The Grand National is a great event and even if you are not, as a rule, interested in a racing, it's still an event to watch and as I did, at the weekend, it brought back memories of the days when John, my husband, was a bookie.

We went down to the course, complete with a stand, and took bets; it was quite hard work, but very exciting.

The big thing for me and most of the women that were there was - what to wear?

Clothes were chosen, not for comfort, but to out shine the other ladies; we really weren't too interested in the racing, but thought of it more as a fashion show and one in which we wanted to shine.