Rachel Sykes was born in 1974 at Boston in Lincolnshire. The family moved to Nottinghamshire and lived firstly at Mansfield before moving on to Forest Town nearby. The three schools she attended were: Manor Comprehensive, Newlands Junior and St Edmund's Junior.

I remember when I was little, living in the Jolly Farmers Pub with my mum and dad, two brothers, one sister, and my grandma and granddad.

My granddad hurt himself by dropping a cleaver on his toe after opening crabs for dinner. He was never the same after that.

Nana used to sit me at the front of the pub in the kiosk so I could sell peanuts to all the customers, and when she wasn't looking I'd sneak off under the tables and swipe the empties!

There was also a wonderful lady, who lived next door, called Mrs Gunn, who used to look after us. Butterflies always spring to mind when I remember her but I'm not quite sure why.

We all used to play snap in the afternoon. She had a brother called Tommy if I remember rightly. It turns out my fiancé's grandma used to date Tommy too --- talk about a small world.

I also remember having a friend who lived in the street behind the pub, whose parents had an estate car that had a wooden trim. They moved though, but every time I saw a car like it I thought it was them moving back. Well...I was only young at the time....

The only bad memory I have of the place is falling down the stairs, as there's a door right at the bottom and I didn't half crack my head on it. About time I went back for a visit I think!

Rachel Sykes, 2001