For most of her long and active life, "Miss Shirley" -as she is respectfully known to generations of her North Wales students- has been associated with teaching dance. Each year, Shirley Snowden's dedication and infectious energy culminates with "Dancerama" -a glossy, student-production which performs to packed houses at Theatre Clwyd, Mold. Put simply, to many Deesiders, Shirley Snowden is a living legend.

But now Shirley tells us something of her early childhood around Queensferry. She begins with the time during the second world-war when she made regular visits to her grandmother's house close to the railway bridge. As she recalls the various shops along the Station Road parade, Shirley tells of happy times helping-out with her gran's weekly shop.