Newcastle University

How were you taught to read? Were you taught to read by your parents?

No I could - I knew letters, I could do my alphabet before I went to school but I can remember learning to read at school and the books were called Old Lock. It was about an old farmer and the different animals on the farm and I can remember his name vividly and the picture of him in my head and that was the reading scheme that I learnt to read on at school.

So you vividly remember the process of learning to read?

Yes.

And so you can remember being read to by your parents?

Yes.

What time - did they read to you at night?

Mostly in the evenings, yes, yes, before bedtime. But I we lived with my great uncle so obviously he had more time to devote to me during the day and he would read to me and we would act out stories. I can remember doing that as well and one of my favourites was Treasure Island so I was always Jim the cabin boy and he was the captain and we played this game over and over and over. It drove everybody else mad I think in the house but we loved that.