THEY are precious things; reminders of the happiest days of our lives - of those we have loved, and sometimes lost.

Memories are precious, that they can be snatched away so cruelly makes them more so.

That's why one woman, who knows the days she can recall those happy times are limited, has written her memoirs.

Vera Merckel, 78, has dementia. She knows the days with which she will remember the past with clarity are numbered.

In a book entitled All Kinds of Love, she details the ups and downs of her life, 30 years of which were spent working in Ulverston as a nurse.

Four years ago, when Mrs Merckel first realised her mind was deteriorating, she began dictating her life story to her friend, Sylvia, who transcribed it while her daughter, Jacqui, 54, helped with the proof-reading.

Mrs Merckel's five children - daughters Louise, Julia and Jacqui, and sons Martyn and Graham - are extremely proud of her achievement.

Martyn Merckel, 53, said: "My mum is now suffering with dementia and really is very pleased to have written her story before it was all too late."

As a farmer's daughter Mrs Merckel grew up at Halton Park Farm near Lancaster but moved from home to home in Chorley where her husband Tony earned £5 a week as a policeman.

When Mr Merckel was offered a position in Ulverston, the family finally settled at Appletree Road.

"We moved from a flea pit to a flea pit to a house," recalls Martyn, who has fond memories of growing up in the small market town in the 1960s.

Mrs Merckel worked at the former TB hospital High Carley in Ulverston as well as Furness General when it later opened in 1984.

Meanwhile, Mr Merckel policed the streets of Ulverston and Barrow, first as a specialised firearms detective and later as an inspector.

However, the most intriguing and tragic account in the book is the story of how Mrs Merckel gave up her eldest son, Graham, for adoption at a Church of England mother and baby home in Preston after falling pregnant out of wedlock in 1956.

Although Mrs Merckel's short-term memory is failing, Martyn attests that "she can recall that like it was yesterday".

He added,"Lots of people say that they will write a book about life and all that it gives; my mum did and we are all very proud of her."

Copies of All Kinds of Love can be found at the public libraries in Barrow and Ulverston or be obtained from Jacqui Merckel by emailing jacqui@higgs.family.name