I was born in Australia of British descent, and have been a Robin Hood fan almost all my life, right from the time I can remember sitting on my Dad's knee and listening to him reading the stories.He was always a hero and I used to act out the various scenes playing both Robin and Marion!

The ties became even stronger when I first visited Sherwood Forest in 1992, a truly magical time which I repeated in '93, '95, 96 and '98, so you can see what a real fan I am!

I've been writing Robin stories and verse since even before then, being in the Forest only made it more real.

My other main interest, Formula One racing, may seem incongrous, but to me the drivers of today are like the jousting knights of old, something particularly brought home by my first Nottingham joust at the Robin Hood Pageant in '93. Talk about a thrill! I was picked at random to be Lady Mary on "stage", and walked on cloud ten for months afterwards.

Click here to read "Sherwood Glimpses" - a modern Robin Hood Ballad in 20 chapters by Mary Shepherd