Coal Dust & Memories is the story of one life, mine from my earliest recollections, roughly 1961 and my younger sisters birth. The belief that had she not been born my Pop, Pop (Grandad) wouldn’t have died. A rollercoaster ride that I have ridden, each pitfall a memory, each memory recalled and put aside to make room for the next rise or fall on my ride of destiny. You may see it as the writings of a victim but I don’t see myself that way, it is the story that has led me to the place where I find myself today. It may be that you see your own experiences reflected, or it could be you who inflicted some of it on me or someone else The title Coaldust & Memories derived from just one Christmas.I had been allowed home for two days to be with my Dad from the girls hostel where I lived in care. He wasn’t there, no food, the electricity cut off, cold and alone in the dark, in a house that was once my family home, with just my Mum’s wedding dress, coal dust and memories to keep me warm