In There's Always Something, Marilyn Sandiford traces her life from birth to marriage.

However the book is not so much for nostalgia as to entertain her grandchildren and keep them in touch with the way things used to be.

And, as she explains: "The first part of the book, until I was about 10 – that is the bit that says what I am like – who I was once."

Set in Norfolk, the book explores Mrs Sandiford's childhood in Cressingham, where her mother was headteacher at Cressingham Church School, and her teenage years in Castle Rising until she got married in 1947.

As a teenager, she became passionate about fashion and went to Norwich Art School, where she made friends and discovered her talent for modelling.

"I was finding myself in demand to model for my class mates in the costume design class," she writes in her book.

"At 5'7" and still thin, I was useful for tacking and pinning their 'creations' on. In addition I was able, naturally, to stay still for long periods of time. This was a knack which would help me in later years."

Her slender figure also caught the eye of film director Basil Deardon at Ealing Studios, who invited her to move to London to work permanently as an extra.

But it was not to be.

"I was due to be married and start teaching but all the bits were beginning to come together," she said.

Years later, Mrs Sandiford went on to form the first model agency in East Anglia as a result of such experiences.

Although not covered in the scope of this book, she went on to form the agency and, in the later stages of her career, embraced casting roles.

She said: "My head is always full of memories. I enjoyed every minute of writing it. I'm a natural-born optimist and to me there isn't a thread that goes through life and that's why I called it There's Always Something.

"Things happen as they should, whether they are good, bad or indifferent. Somehow it all comes together and forms a picture. There is an overall pattern."

The book, which is told through the eyes of a child, aims to entertain those brought up in Norfolk and interested in the social history of past times.

For more information or to get a copy of the book, call 01508 499241.