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My dad was the first born child and made to do medicine, so I was fortunate in that he was adamant we should be allowed to do what we wanted.

I also had a wide range of educational experiences which helped me make informed choices.

My first school was Diocesan Girls' and I lasted there a year. Having a Chinese mum and a British dad, I struggled with Chinese even though the school was bilingual.

I'm sure part of that was to do with being in a family with two cultures.

I left and went to Kowloon Junior, part of the English Schools Foundation and it transformed me. I went from being below par and a square peg in a round hole to fitting in.

I could even see words in English so it made life so much easier and I looked forward to going to school.

One teacher was really cool. I loved ice skating and I'd bring her in photos of me which she genuinely showed an interest in. She even wanted to go ice-skating with me.

I went on to King George V, also an ESF school, and that was just as enjoyable.

By the time I was 12 or 13 I'd become a bit of a rebel. I wore the shortest skirts and highest heels and was using make-up.

I hung out with trendy girls who were mostly Eurasian. Probably we shared this common bond of not being from one culture or another.

Miss Millington taught chemistry and was strict and square. I think most people thought she was a real cow but  we decided to befriend her.

In fact, we became good friends and we enjoyed her company a lot. I think she felt the same way too. I'm sure it must've been really hard for her  in a school full of outspoken, confident teenagers.

At the age of 14 I decided I wanted to go to boarding school, as I wanted to be independent.

So I went to a Quaker girls' school in northern England and it was dismal.

I think I cried for the whole of the first term and it took me two years to settle in. I've a letter that I wrote to my parents telling them I wanted to come home immediately.

I can remember being on the hockey field in the middle of winter and all these really big gweipos charging towards me with their hockey sticks. They made us play for three hours and I nearly ended up with frostbite.

But I grew used to it. I really loved biology and  still read a biology textbook for pleasure.  It all just made sense and I didn't even have to study it.

My teacher was Mrs Campbell, a big, fat retired nurse who was extraordinary and always had lots of anecdotes to tell.

I returned to Hong Kong knowing I didn't want to go on to university in the UK but wanting to ice-skate.

It was while doing that I got my acting break in a film on ice-skating that I think was called I Do. I thought it was dreadful but more movies followed. It was fun and I enjoyed them but my heart was never really in acting.

Eventually I decided to study biology at the University of Hong Kong because it was the only subject I was really interested in.

After graduating and a spell in retail, I realised I wanted to do something more therapeutic with people. The result was occupational therapy which involved a three-year course at the Polytechnic University.

I'm now with the Child Development Centre (CDC) at the Matilda Hospital, a non-profit-making organisation for children with learning difficulties.

Working with kids is absolutely amazing. There's a tremendous sense of satisfaction but it's also emotionally draining so you have to be passionate about it.

We need HK$1.6 million a year  to keep the CDC's doors open so we created Hong Kong's Biggest Alphabet Book to  which all sorts of people have submitted pictures, stories and other contributions.

York Chow, the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, gave us a picture of a horse, Bernard Chan, the legislator, did one of an elephant. Film star Jackie Chan wrote: 'Never give up.'

I remember when I went to pick up the first copy and dreaded seeing it but my reaction was 'wow'.

It's a great book because it's based on a great idea but perhaps more importantly it's a Hong Kong book made by Hong Kong kids and adults.

Ann Bridgewater is a former actress and now works as an occupational therapist with the Child Development Centre at the Matilda Hospital. She was talking to David Phair.



'I wore the shortest skirts, highest heels'