Over the relentless, furious din of machinery, I lip-read the familiar words: "Lacks the necessary aptitude."'Pam Ayres' early childhood in Stanford in the Vale was idyllic in many ways, and typical of that experienced by a great swathe of children born in rural areas in the immediate post...

Over the relentless, furious din of machinery, I lip-read the familiar words: "Lacks the necessary aptitude."'Pam Ayres' early childhood in Stanford in the Vale was idyllic in many ways, and typical of that experienced by a great swathe of children born in rural areas in the immediate post-war years.