Content area
Full text
This Oscar-winning actress owes her interest in drama to a teacher who inspired women from all walks of life.
Mrs Welding was my English teacher at St Bernard's Convent Grammar School in Westcliff-on-Sea. She was a gentle person, small in stature with a quiet voice and always neatly dressed. She wasn't one of those forceful, funny, charismatic teachers who bounced down the aisle making you hysterical with laughter; her style was different. It was gentle and encouraging, never putting anyone down.
It was amazing that out of such a neat, contained, quiet person came this explosion of thought and imagination. Mrs Welding absolutely loved her own subject and simply shared it with us, holding nothing back. She had such a gentle encouraging way of communicating it, with straightforwardness and generosity.
We never did a full length play at school, but we did have the "Shakespeare Cup",...