Then…

Photo of Kate as a young woman, in about 1968.

Kate, aged 16, in 1968. Taken in Istanbul where she was working as an au pair.

Thinking about yourself as the young woman in this photo, what did you think life held in store for you?

Hopefully a positive life experience. When I was young I had a feeling of being invincible! So much musical creativity and young people’s optimism, that life would be more fulfilling, than the hardship my parents and grandparents endured. I never really thought about the future as no-one had career paths who attended secondary modern schools. My career interview was mill worker, shop worker or office work. My mother was at 14 years old, the youngest weaver at Salts Mill. My grandma (born 1879) did part time mill work/school at 8 years. I’d already worked, on Saturday, at 2 shops by the age of 16 years so ended up working in office work.