A childhood by the sea

When I was growing up you could just see the sea from our house in Taliesin in west Wales. Mum, Dad, my little sister Jane and I, along with Bilbo our golden labrador, spent many happy outings building sandcastles on the beautiful sandy, beach at Borth, paddling in the shallow water, exploring the golden dunes at Ynyslas and searching for crabs and tiny shrimps in the pools of the submerged forest in between. And the sunsets – well you could hardly ask for a better view than that across Cardigan bay (see right).

Near Aberystwyth harbour in January 2011

Having said that, lured by the bright lights of London—and the appeal of a college course that didn't involve a foundation year in Carmarthen—I then left home at 18 and spent the next 30+ years living miles away from the sea. I lived in various addresses in London, moving away from the IRA bombs in the late 80s to work in Manchester (living in Bolton) only to be followed by the IRA and their bombs a few years later. I next spent twelve years in Stamford, Lincolnshire and then – after meeting Ian in Madeira followed by a year's long-distance courtship travelling between Stamford and Reading and a 15-month engagement – we got married in October 2004 and I moved into Ian's house in Lower Earley. We moved to our current home in Shinfield in April 2006. But the sea and the fresher air away from the M4 corridor are calling, and in just a few weeks we'll be moving on.