In 1966, when pocket money was very limited, my friend and I wondered how we could boost our funds. We both had younger sisters and enjoyed looking after children. After a bit of thought we came up with the following idea and posted an advert in the village paper shop:

'Two responsible 12 year old grammar school girls seek babysitting jobs'

We didn't have telephones in those days, so must have put our names and addresses at the bottom.

Yes, we were only 12, but several people contacted us to ask us to babysit, usually on a Saturday evening. If we had two jobs on one evening we would take our sisters with us. It seems impossible now.

The children were invariably in bed when we arrived. One of the parents would collect us and take us home again. They had telephones in their homes and always left us a contact number in case of problems. I don't remember ever having to make use of this facility. For us it was also an evening out, with benefits, as we had access to make drinks and food was always left out, which often contained something chocolatey and not often on our menu at home; we could watch television, stay up late and earn money. It served us all well and was the first of many part-time jobs whilst still in full time education.

Two places in particular remain in my memory. The first was a large house just outside the village and was quite remote at the time. We were always a bit nervous and made sure all the curtains were closed and doors locked, but there was never anything to worry about.

The second was the local policeman, who had an Alsatian dog, which stayed in the kitchen. It destroyed a hat of mine which had been given as a Christmas present - precious in those days. When we went into the kitchen to make a drink and collect the snack which had been left we never quite knew who was guarding who!