The first time that I set my eyes on her, she managed to steal my undivided attention. As she flitted from person to another, I sat there a bit mesmerised, a bit intrigued. Not like a dead leaf of the fall, yet she almost went by the wind with gay abandon, virtually rudderless. Presently, she landed up within hugging distance of me, looked me up and down of as much as she could see, and without even waiting for me to react, scampered away. She was all of four feet nothing, not a day more than ten years in age. She was what you would call an urchin, a beggar. I could see her only as a child. Seated, of course, I was – in the driver’s seat of my car. This was a busy crossing I had to negotiate every day of that seasonal phase of my life. And every day, at that same hour, I saw her. Without fail.

Here's something that everyone knows except those in the fashion industry and the ardent adherents of their myths: men like curves, and thin is not really in. Fully 80 per cent of men aged 18-50 want a voluptuous woman, according to former model Nancy Hayssen, who has written a book every woman could love based on the title alone: 101 Sexy Secrets: How to Be Hot, Sexy & Beautiful at ANY Size! Another 15 per cent men prefer a woman of average size, while just 5 per cent opt for a super skinny lady. Hmmm. Twenty years ago, most fashion models were a size 8; today, that's been replaced by an emaciated 0. During those same two decades, the average American woman, who stands 5'4", ballooned from a size 10 to a size 14. Fun fact: A14, which is now considered a "plus size," was approximately sex bomb Marilyn Monroe's dress size.