The Pickton case has re-kindled my old interest in serial killers. I’ve pulled out my “Women Who Kill” book again, by Carol Anne Davis. I just finished reading again about Myra Hindley and Ian Brady. Myra has always stuck me as an intriguing character. Close to her mother, loved children, was crazy about her dogs... but assisted Ian in abducting and killing five kids. She was so obsessed with Ian, wanting only to please him and gain his approval, that nothing else seemed to matter. I don’t know whether to admire or be repulsed by a love that strong. She was evidently a little warped in her expression of it. I suppose she didn’t have great role models: her father beat her and her mother, and she lived with her grandmother from the age of four onwards.

Most people don’t really think about how their parents influence their behaviour in terms of relationships and perceptions of normality. I thought it was perfectly normal for a couple to be married for over 30 years, be on an equal footing, and kiss in front of their children. That’s what I saw from my parents as I grew up. I guess Myra thought it was normal for a woman to be completely subservient to her man, worship him, and acquiesce to his will at all times.

Now I know that it’s normal for my husband to be wrapped around my little finger...!!!