Thanks for your reply @cicisaja - and yes, I also thought I needed some photos of the leaves esp. since I had mentioned the markings. For my next post, I will try and capture a photo of the whole plant which I will be able to use for the thumbnail image.

Also, you mentioned that they should grow 1 metre tall, I have some older ones that have been growing for some time but they are very close to the ground, sometimes with a short stem but it only grows about 1 - 2 cms high. Do you think it could be a dwarf? If I have time, I will drop into my local library to see if they have any 'Aloe' books that I can refer to for confirmation.

thanks for sharing and I really like to read this article

Thank you so much for your kind words, it makes me really happy to hear that you enjoy seeing my photos and reading my article, this inspires me to keep learning and sharing.