Some people call me Mary Poppins because of my umbrella. I haven’t always dressed in bright colours. For many years I mostly wore black and grey. Around 20 years ago one of my sons said to me “Hey Mum, what’s with the colour?” and it’s got bigger and bigger as I’ve got older.
My childhood was very difficult. My father was abusive and my mother was an alcoholic. Mine was a dangerous family. To escape I used go and sit in the back yard and sing. My neighbour heard me and said to my mother “you need to do something with that girl”.
Mum took me to an audition and I sang I Whistle a Happy Tune as it was the only song I knew. I ended up getting on a TV show called Youth Takes a Bow.
That lead to me getting a part on Swallows Juniors, later called Brian and the Juniors. It was a popular youth talent TV show from the late 1950s through to the 70s.
Soon after I got the part, I was coming home from school and I saw a little crowd outside our house. I mean we lived in the back streets in a rough neighbourhood. They all started screaming because they’d seen me on TV.
Mum went out and bought me clothes and a makeup bag. I don’t know how as we didn’t have much money. I got everything everything and my sisters got nothing. But nobody seemed to care. I was on that show from the age of 10 to after 16. You’re sposed to leave when you’re 16 but I started on the show as the youngest and left as the oldest.
That was an amazing experience and an escape from what was going on at home. I couldn’t stop crying in the week leading up to my last day on the show. I stayed in the industry for a number of years but It wasn’t the same. Being on that show was like being in the land of make believe. I was devastated by the loss of the bright lights and the costumes and I thought I was nobody.
I feel like I’ve come alive again in my later years. I’m now 75 and even though its not perfect, its top of the notch. I know if I’ve had a bad night I’ll soon come out of it. Everyday I get dressed up and the colour reflects my growth and my mood.
I always say to my grandchildren “you’re beautiful from the inside out’. That’s the most important thing. I’ve done a lot of work on myself and my insides are cracking out. One of the songs they made my sing on Swallow Juniors was Happy as a Lark and that’s how I now feel.