After attending a few classes Teresa and I were smitten by the dancing bug and every Friday evening would see me and my friend on the bus for the short journey into the city centre to attend ballroom dancing lessons.

Soon we had learned enough steps to give us the confidence to branch out to the more popular ballrooms, our favourites being ‘The Club Orchid’ and ‘The Fiesta’. It was at one such venue, namely ‘The Floral Hall’ that I met my husband to be, Con Larkin, whom I married two years later. Our marriage produced three sons, Con Jr, Paul and Edan and, when Con was offered a position in Darlington, we all moved to the North East in the summer of 1974, although we still go back to the old town each year to meet friends and do some research.

Whilst strolling along Royal Avenue with my sister Sue, during one of these visits, I happened to remark on the ever changing landmarks, stores and streets, saying that I hardly recognised the city as I remembered it from my youth. We discussed the subject for a while and agreed that to the best of our knowledge no one had written any novels about the era we had grown up in, and that any written works about Belfast invariably centred on the “troubles”.

A void needed filling and Sue threw down the challenge, saying that if anyone could do it I could. We had lunch in the town centre and soon the conversation took on different topics of a general nature and the writing was forgotten.

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