[Margaret Pilkington]

Less, I can identify with so much of that.
Both of my parents were employed in the cotton mills....and we all know the way they went.
My father was an electrical engineer.....he tried to stay employed all of his life, but he left the forces ill, and was given none of the handouts that would be forthcoming today.
And one of the most upsetting things I remember in my young life was being taken down to Melbourne Street, to what I presume was the 'Social'....being dumped on the counter by my mother, who told the staff there that she could not afford to keep us.....she had four pence in her purse until the following Friday. Certainly not enough to feed four small children........this was the land fit for heroes.......both parents working and yet not enough money coming in to put bread on the table.

I am one of those baby boomers. My childhood experiences left me with a fear of debt and a financial prudence that has (so far) meant that I do not ever hope to rely on state hand outs.