A NOVELIST who chalked her first words on a Lancaster windowsill has returned to her birthplace decades later.
Memories flooded back as Wendy Robertson stepped back into her childhood for the first time in more than half a century.
In a recent interview with The Sunday Times, the author of 18 books was asked to describe the house she most remembered - and she painted a vivid picture of life at 44 Vale Road during the war.
She also admitted venturing past the three-bed terrace, which she recalled as 'a fairy-tale house', on a nostalgia trip two years ago.
"I wanted to show my daughter this special house, so I took her there. I walked up and down the street feeling emotional, but I didn't dare knock on the door and ask, "Can I come in?" she said.
Peter Williamson who now lives at No 44 contacted the storyteller's publisher to invite her in 'for a cuppa' after reading the interview.
"I was astounded to see the article and a photograph of my house," he said. "I just thought 'Thank God I had double glazing put in a few months ago'!"
After exchanging e-mails and phone calls, Wendy made the long journey from her Bishop Auckland home to take Peter up on his offer.
"I thought it was amazing to get his invitation," she told the Citizen after meeting Peter and his six-year-old daughter Emma - who is the same age as Wendy when she left Lancaster.
The two adults spent the afternoon swapping stories about the house, with Wendy recalling happy times such as a VJ Day street party in 1945 celebrating victory over Japan.
No 44 was requisitioned for Wendy's family in 1940 when they moved from Blitz-torn Coventry. Wendy was born the following year in March, and remembers scrawling her first words in chalk on the lounge windowsill about three years later.
To mark her visit, Peter presented the author with a 'house heirloom' in the shape of an antique stamp, which embosses paper with No 44 Vale Road.
In return, Wendy gave him copies of her latest novel Honesty's Daughter - due for release in September - and Land of Your Possession, inspired by her family's exodus from Coventry, which draws on some of her experiences in Lancaster.
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