I grew up in North London and attended Camden School for Girls. As a child visits to Hampstead Heath cultivated a love of nature and the outdoors which has remained with me throughout my life. Accordingly I attended a rurally located Teacher Training College in Berkshire and became a primary school teacher. My first teaching position was in North London and then following my marriage I taught in Farnborough, Hampshire. This was followed by a brief position in Derbyshire. My last position before emigrating to Canada was in Andover, Hampshire. I emigrated to Canada in 1966 and lived in Montreal until the mid 1980s. My three children were born there and following my divorce I attended McGill University, studying for a B.Ed, plus a Diploma in Special Education. I also completed two years of postgraduate studies in Educational Psychology which incorporated teaching a course for the University. In Canada I taught in the Montreal area initially at Otterburn Park and then in Laval before my first child was born. In the early years of my children's education I became actively involved in teaching and organising community nursery schools. This was followed by approximately seven years of teaching special needs to adolescents in crisis. I also taught briefly in the Saguenay region of northern Quebec and also in Ottawa. My love of the outdoors became focussed on ski-ing, canoeing and camping in both Canada and the USA. On my return to England I taught in London, primarily in multicultural primary schools in Enfield and Wood Green. I retired from teaching and moved to the north east of England almost two years ago. I travel frequently to visit my children in Canada, Singapore and the USA. I have also started writing fiction for children, which has been a long held ambition. I currently have completed four books which are in the process of hopefully being published. I try to incorporate an awareness of nature in the stories I write. Barbara Robertson