Nia: Would you say that you’ve always liked clothes?

Meriel: Yes. My mother liked clothes too. We used to go shopping together. Then, later on when I was nursing, I didn’t have much money to buy clothes but I still enjoyed going around shops and I knew exactly what I liked.

Nia: And what was your wedding dress like?

Meriel: We married in 1954. My dress was white chiffon with mother of pearl around the neckline, short sleeves and the dress came in quite tight on the waist and had a hoop under the skirt. It was a 3/4 length dress which had just come into fashion then. My husband said at the time that I looked nice, but I haven’t heard anything since!

Nia: Then you went travelling on your honeymoon?

Meriel: Yes, we stayed in the ‘Grand Atlantic’ one night and then went onto see the ‘Cheddar Caves’ before Barnstaple where he bought me a pair of brown trousers. Women didn’t wear trousers then so I thought I was quite important!

Meriel: Everything was much more formal all those years ago to compare with today.

Nia: Do you really think so? Have you seen a change?

Meriel: Oh, definitely. If you went to a party or dance, you’d have to buy a long dress and would be dolled up to the nines.

Nia: Did you like that formality then?

Meriel: Yes. When you went out, you felt that you were going somewhere special.

Nia: You’ve quite a few fur coats?

Meriel: Yes, I’ve three. The first I bought was a full length, black mink coat. I haven’t worn it for years but if you go to Europe, they wear them there. Mum wore fur animals with their heads still on! She used to wear mink marmot and some thought that it was awful so I took their heads off and made scarves out of them!

Meriel: I’ve bought a lot of clothes abroad and on luxurious cruises. On the Antartica cruise, I bought two ponchos from Uruguay, they’re lovely to wear in the evenings. They’re really soft. I bought them at a ranch.

Meriel: We went on a Rhine and Danube cruise and whilst Eric was looking at cathedrals, I went around the shops and bought this twinset. I paid about £40 for it so not that bad really.

Nia: So, you’re not one for visiting the sights when you’re on holidays then?

Meriel: Well, I’ve seen a lot of cathedrals in my time and I don’t want to see any more to be honest! I like wondering around and seeing just normal things and meeting people in the shops.

Meriel: Here’s a bit of glamour for you. I wore this outfit to a cocktail part on the 'Princess cruise'. They had nice clothes there. I bought it on the cruise itself.

Nia: I’ve never been on a cruise. What’s it like? Sure it’s a nice experience is it?

Meriel: O yes, it’s different to anything else. It’s very glamorous, you dress up a lot. The 'Captain’s night' is the big night, where you dress up in your best clothes and the captain awaits you in the ballroom. There’s a champagne reception and everybody dresses up, everything’s sparkly. It’s impressive.

Nia: I can see straight away that this is from the eighties!

Meriel: Yes, Princess Di style! The sleeves puff out and comes in tightly at the waist.

Leah: I’ve worn this one a number of times on cruises. It used to have very long sleeves but I cut them shorter because the sleeves were getting into my soup which wasn’t very glamorous! It’s a very dramatic outfit! It’s 30 years old.

Meriel: I bought this one in London and it’s very easy to wear. There’s plenty of sequins on it to wear on cruises and has an elastic waist so plenty of room to expand after all that food!

Nia asks Eric, Meriel's husband: It’s lovely to be a woman and be able to wear all of these dresses! Your wife loves pretty dresses and I’m extremely happy because I’m allowed to try them on! Are you happy?

Eric, Meriel's husband: Yes, happy enough. It’s lovely to see her all dressed up looking beautiful. I think you’re right when you say that I’m a good husband!

Nia: What does Eric think about your clothes?

Meriel: He’s going to have a shock. He’s never seen so many of my clothes together before. He’s not all that interested really. He wouldn’t particularly notice if something was new or not.

Nia: What do you do – do you hide clothes under the bed etc?

Meriel: Yes. And the attic’s a good place too!