Val worked for Halas and Batchelor in London and then at World Wide Animation, before going on to Industrial, Commercial and Educational Macmillan (ICEM) in Richmond.

It was at ICEM that I managed to get a 3-days a week position as an assistant animator. Val and I met there in 1969 and got married in 1971.

When things got very busy at the Slough studio Val left ICEM and worked at her Mum and Dad's studio (Pearce Studios) in Slough, with short breaks to give birth in 73 and 75. She continued there when most of the Studio moved to Hanwell. It made possible working with 2 young children.

During the time that Hitch Hikers was in production in 1980 Val did most of the tracing and painting of the Dolphins animation.

She later worked for Mike Hickin at Medi-cine before Mike left to form Magic Touch.

When Rod shrunk the studio in 85 to become a one-man-band Val decided she wasn't comfortable with the accelerating trend towards computerisation.

She changed direction, doing a college course in horticulture and went on to work as part of a team of ladies designing and maintaining gardens and also had clients of her own. Val still maintain's a garden with a colleague.