Annetta’s book is published – after 31 years!

Annetta Steel, who was born and brought up in Shader, wrote the story of Little Miss Daisy when her second son Mark was at playgroup.

The story is designed to help young children understand about the four seasons.

And having found all the pages again, Annetta thought the story was as relevant today as it was then, and was encouraged by her husband John to get it published.

She said: “Back in the day we had a parent-led playgroup in Fort William for pre-school children.

“To help the little ones understand about the four seasons of the year, I wrote the book Little Miss Daisy and Her Four Seasons.

“However, as the years went by, the pages were lost all over the house.

“We’d been having a tidy up after a lot of years and I’d find a page here and a page there, in the loft or the bedroom and then finally all the pages were found and together again.

“I showed them to my husband. They were all just loose pages and he asked what it was, but was very encouraging about getting it published.”

So the pages were sent to Stockwell Publishers – and 31 years after it was written, the book was illustrated and published.

The release of the book was delayed because of the Covid-19 virus, but it is now available from Stockwell Publishers, as well as from companies such as Amazon, eBay and Waterstones.

After growing up in Shader, Annetta completed her nursing training at Lewis Hospital before taking up a post at Glasgow Royal Infirmary.

After marrying John they moved to Fort William and had two sons, Mark, now 34 and working as a chef in glasgow; and Keith (39), who lives in Canada.

Annetta said: “Some of the little ones from 31 years ago will have children of their own now and might like to read the book to them.

“I read it to the wee boy next door to us and he really enjoyed it. He was aksing about daisies and different months of the year, so I know it still appeals to young ones today.”