Your memories: Moira was a child star

NOT many people get to experience a major highlight of their career before they reach the tender age of ten. But by the time Moira Hepburn, who lives in Oxgangs, was chosen to perform for the BBC's Children's Hour at its Queen Street studios in 1945 at the age of nine, she was already a seasoned performer.

"I sang Christopher Robin Is Saying His Prayers," she recalls. "They had large microphones that covered your face, practically."

Starting out singing under the guidance of her pianist mother at four years old, the pair were soon performing duets until Moira, now 74, started accompanying herself.

Gaining favour among the US troops stationed in Edinburgh during the Second World War, the young girl was dubbed "Tiny Tetrazzini" after the famed Italian Soprano Luisa Tettrazzini. It wasn't long before she had branched out to other gigs: "I got to the final for search for a star with the Evening News at the Playhouse in 1972. I played at the Caledonian Hotel, I did some background music there. I used to work in Princes Street Gardens, at the bandstand. I used to go in at the start and play for the children coming up to sing."