I am now 35 years young and started playgroup, as it was then, when I was three. It was set in an old Victorian House and I was the first - and only, for a while - child, together with the younger son of the lady who owned it. I still remember her name, the layout of the house, the sessions and what we did.
I can remember the painting that we did in her back room and remember the first day that she let my younger sister join (or invade) my sessions. I sat her in the outdoor sandpit and left her there. I can still see her today, sitting there with her hair all covered in sand. I loved my days there, and I am told Istarted to talk for the first time while playing there.
Mrs Clark always let us watch 'Playschool' while drinking our milk, in her front room.
I met up with Mrs Clark years later when her eldest granddaughter and my daughter started playgroup together. She still worked in a playgroup and her son became the treasurer of the playgroup that I was involved in. She still referred to me as 'my first baby' and I won't ever forget her.
So Gillian, please don't worry. It may not seem so at the time, but children will remember their carefree days with you.
Dawn Williams, Canterbury, Kent
