A friendship first made on a 1950s holiday, a document unsigned at the last moment, the suggestion made by a stranger, a photograph taken in Spain, all elements in a chain of events leading to a totally unexpected romantic encounter quite late in life.

This is the story of a childhood in the 1930s, taking us through carefree days at the seaside, when it is never too young to fall in love. An account of wartime on the east coast and day-to-day work behind a pharmacy counter in those long, dark years, is interlaced with notes on severe winters from a daily 80-year record kept by a dedicated amateur weatherman.

Along the way there are accounts of incidents of a supernatural nature, how a smoking habit may have saved a life which it took away in later years, encounters with fire, in one case a little too close for comfort.

Readers can form their own opinion as to whether the happenings set down in these pages are just a matter of random chance, or is there indeed a guiding thread of predestination leading to a totally unexpected change of lifestyle.