"I was sat in a cafe, waiting for them to come back with a bacon bap and a coffee. On the next table I heard two elderly ladies talking and I heard the one say to the other one:
"Oh, look! Isn't she lovely?"
And I did not realise they were talking about me.
The one lady said to the other:
"Shame, isn't it? I'm not afraid of them see. They won't hurt you."
They kept on looking over and smiling. I looked around to see if anyone else was about and realised they were talking about me. I started laughing then and they really did think something was wrong as I was sat on my own.
The two elderly women thought I could not understand what they were on about. How wrong they were about me. I have set up my own home, and enjoy life with my husband like any other married woman. I am a friendly, outgoing person who will let nothing or no one stand in the way of what I want to do. I feel I can do what I like, when I like and there's no one to answer to except me.
They thought I would be living at home with my parents and living a sheltered life.
What I have achieved over the years has been what I have always wanted."
Nick Hodge
