Her autobiography, thankfully, is written in exactly the same way. It's vintage Pam on every page. You can almost hear that broad accent as you read.
It is an easy and entertaining read.
There is no pretence and not a lot of analysis, just loads of detail and plenty of Pam's trademark turns of phrase and humour.
She has covered the first 29 years of her life - growing up as the youngest of six children in a crowded three-bedroomed council house in Stanford in the Vale, Oxfordshire, her series of unsatisfying jobs, serving with the Women's Royal Air Force in Singapore, her first performances at the Ducklington Folk Club, and finally "making it" by winning the UK talent show Opportunity Knocks in 1975.
There are 64 chapters, most only a few pages long, plus several pages of well-chosen photographs, which makes this book perfect for busy people to dip into at will.
The afterword, equally short, rounds things off nicely. Pam canvasses her 35 years as a performer and entertainer, criss-crossing the world, making people laugh and, along the way, doing something her doubting father never thought was possible - making a living from poetry.
Pam has devoted followers in every corner of the globe. Not bad, she says, for a woman who penned many of her early verses on an ironing board placed across the arms of a chair.
And, by the way, we can tell from the front cover portrait that eventually, Pam did look after her teeth.
- Allison Rudd is an ODT reporter.
