My mother had always wanted a daughter of her own, but couldn't so the next best would have been a granddaughter, to be called Sandra. Her neighbours, the Westerman's, knew this. After she died, whenever Marjorie went into their Cafe next to the Monument for coffee they went on at her about it. Mrs W was rather overpowering, and that is how Gabriel came to be christened Sandra, which we have never called her. When Malcolm first started to talk he couldn't even pronounce it and called her 'Wissie'.

While we lived at Tudor Avenue in Cheshunt they both went to the Roman Catholic School in Waltham Cross on the bus until we moved to Ipswich, where they both went to Junior School at the Convent. Gay did very well and went on to the Seniors, taking all sorts of '0' and 'A' Levels which earned her a Scholarship to Drama School. When she was fifteen there was a competition for the Ipswich Press Queen which she entered, with a great deal of encouragement from the family and all the Nuns at the Convent, and won against a large entry of much older girls and young women. Her prizes were presented to her by Kenneth Home, the famous comedian, who crowned her, and consisted of one hundred poundsworth of boutique clothes (1963 remember) and a few days at the Lucy Clayton School of Beauty in Bond Street, London, which has stood her in good stead all her life.

Drama School was what she wanted. Even as a little girl she and her girlfriends from the neighbouring houses were always performing plays on the lawn. They didn't charge admission, but I believe it was sixpence to get out. There were plenty of nice children living near us, many of whom were Americans whose fathers were stationed on the U.S.A.A.F. Airfields at Woodbridge and Bentwaters. Since our lawn was the biggest around it always seemed to be full of kids. They even played on it when we went on holiday. I think they thought it was some kind of public park. A great deal of hide and seek in the chicken sheds and pigsty went on, accompanied by tree climbing.

Her three-year course was at Margot Fonteyn's old house. Ivy House opposite the famous 'Old Bull and Bush' pub at Hampstead Heath. It was there that she met Mike Hoyle from Sheffield and they were married at St James Roman Catholic Church, Ipswich.

Trogon (Tru) was born in a Jewish Maternity Home in Golders Green near the School in the final year of the course. The other students looked after her in the Props and Wardrobe Rooms in the basement while Gay was on stage.

After the course they moved up to Sheffield and lived in a flat near Sheffield Wednesday Football Club. Brenda Nortecliffe lived in the same building and they have been friends ever since.

The marriage didn't work out. They weren't really compatible. I suppose it was because they were both away from their homes which threw them together. So another divorce. Gay continued living in the flat but after working for an oil company, Thomas Black, for a few years selling fuel oil to farmers and factories, she came down to Dunstable - a sheer coincidence - to take up a different kind of job with a newly founded company.

The new job sometimes took her abroad to Europe, but the firm folded up. I think the Boss was a bit of a 'sharpie', a real wheeler and dealer. She took a new job with Burroughs, a large American Company and is still working for them after moving about a bit to different offices including one near Heathrow and another near Wembley. Burroughs has merged with another American Company called Sperry who during the War made the bombsight for the U.S.A.A.F. amongst other things, and they are now called 'Unisys'.

Although never becoming a professional actress Gay has continued with Amateur Dramatics, just like Marjorie did, with Dunstable Rep., and this year is its Chairman. At one time she had a business making and renting out costumes to dramatic societies and had several hundred of them. Marjorie used to help out with sewing and machining.

Alistair is also an active member of Dunstable Rep., which is how they met. He too is on his way up in the world of T.V., and is a producer for T.V. South based in Southampton. So they have a main house in Studham and a flat in Southampton.