'The needles were so big you could almost sharpen them on a wall'

I have been an insulin dependent diabetic since the age of four - I am now 55.

The last time I worked it out, I've had at least 85,000 insulin injection, that's not counting the blood tests.

I started with the glass syringe and the needles that were so big you could almost sharpen them on a wall.

You had 12 needles (which you paid for) in a box with a length of copper wire.

After the injection you pushed the copper wire up the needle to get rid of any skin plugs left in the needle, you then dropped the needle into a bottle of surgical spirits to keep clean, one needle lasted about a week.

My mother couldn't give me my injections so the hospital advised her to practise on an orange. My mother could spend all day sticking a needle in an orange but when it came to a screaming four year old - no way.

We came into the high tech age when my Dad bought the injector gun for me. This bit of high tech was like a catapult in the shape of a gun. You pulled back the spring which held the syringe, put it against your arm and pulled the trigger.

The thing shot forward into your arm - if the jolt didn't jar the needle from the syringe you were lucky. If the needle did come off, you had to shout for someone to come and force the needle and syringe back together.

Diabetes got me out of a lot of lessons at school that I didn't like and because I had to eat at certain times, I also had my school dinners about half an hour earlier then the rest of the school.