Lily sighed. It was good to be alive on a day such as this.

As she cycled along the back road to Ragley village, Lily was at peace in her world. In Twenty Acre Field the green unripe barley swayed in sinuous patterns in the gentle breeze. Misty carpets of bluebells and the pale-yellow blossom of wood sage brought splashes of colour to the woodland clearings. The baa-ing of lambs and the distant cry of a curlew were sounds of a familiar countryside.

When she reached the High Street a flock of starlings wheeled in sharp formation towards St Mary’s Church and Lily thought of Tom and the words he had spoken last night. She smiled as a day of new promise and expectation stretched out before her.

However, life is full of the unexpected, and as she approached the village hall she saw Vera pinning a poster on the noticeboard and pulled up. ‘Good morning, Vera.’

‘Good morning, Lily. This should cause a stir.’

Lily dismounted and read the poster. ‘I see what you mean,’ she said with a smile.

‘Definitely a first,’ said Vera. ‘I can’t imagine the word “sex” has appeared too often on a poster in Ragley. It will certainly get the ladies of the Women’s Institute interested.’

The poster read:

Ragley & Morton W.I.

Wednesday, 20th May 1953 at 7.00 p.m.

‘The Second Sex’

A talk by Clarice Culpepper

Based on the book by Simone de Beauvoir

A cream tea will be served.

‘It’s about time women stood up to be heard,’ said Vera. ‘The suffragettes did it and now it’s our turn.’

With that, a determined Vera and a curious Lily walked side by side towards the school gate.

On the playground Reggie Bamforth and Phoebe Fawnswater were both reading their weekly comics. Reggie was absorbed in his Eagle and enjoying the adventures of Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future.

He glanced across at his friend. ‘What y’readin’ that for, Phoebe?’

‘It’s exciting,’ said Phoebe. She was clearly engrossed. Phoebe was reading Girl, her ‘super-colour’ sister comic to the Eagle.

Each week Phoebe called in at the General Stores, placed four pennies and a ha’penny on the counter and collected her comic. She loved reading about Kitty Hawke and her ‘all-girl air crew’. Phoebe had decided she wanted to be a pilot when she grew up. However, there was much to achieve before then. She had to pass her Eleven-plus, go to the Time School for Girls in York and then on to university. It was a pathway planned years ago by her mother.

She thought she would tell Miss Briggs of her ambitions. All she needed was advice and Miss Briggs knew everything.