Big interview: A lifetime devoted to play - Janet Dalglish, MBE, president, Fair Play for Children

Dalglish, who was born in Paddington, west London, 87 years ago, has worked in and promoted play for more than 60 years, including stints as a youth worker in Chichester, and roles within Girlguiding UK. She has also worked in children's hospitals and was involved in the South London Play Training Project. She is currently president of campaigning group Fair Play for Children. The organisation's secretary, Jan Cosgrove, says of her: "If it hasn't been done by Janet it isn't going to be done." London Play's chair of trustees, Melian Mansfield, calls her a "play phenomenon".

Dalglish, who attended Girton College, Cambridge, at a time when few women went to university, says her passion for play facilities emerged after working with children on London bomb sites after the Second World War; many of these developed into adventure playgrounds. This experience may also feed in to her attitude to play materials; she is famed for being able to create them out of what others might regard as rubbish.