I have worked for 40 years in childcare within local authorities. I have worked in various types of pre-five facilities with children aged 0 to 6, able bodied and disabled. I have finished working with Inverclyde council in June 2012 due to ill health which culminated in having a hysterectomy and bladder repair operation. I have raised my own daughter who is currently at college in Glasgow and I look after our German shepherd dog and two cats at present, but over the years I have looked after a variety of small mammals such as guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, fish and canaries.