I was born in Bexleyheath in 1965, but didn’t stay for long. My dad was an engineer so we travelled with him to Borneo and Scotland, then settling in rural Herefordshire until I was sucked in by the bright lights of London in the 1980s. I now live in Coventry and have taught in further education since 2007. After I became a single mum in 2003, I decided to go back to uni. It was hard with small boys but I worked on my degree until 3am. It paid off and I graduated with first class honours in tourism business management. My teacher training was at Warwickshire College, where I am today.
I started reading the Guardian at university. I like most of the articles, although it’s sometimes a bit too liberal for my taste. I read it on the app and I love the comments – to which I occasionally contribute. My favourite sections are a bit typecast for a woman my age: Food (I have a newly discovered love of cooking. I made my first tarte tatin a few weeks ago and could have cried because it worked), Travel, and Lifestyle, but I always give the headlines a good read first. I follow the live blogs; both tragic (Paris) and comedic (Strictly) and I always have an opinion for my students come Tuesday morning. My husband doesn’t read much as his rabid Tory opinion is that the Guardian is too lefty.
The recent article on the NHS pushing HRT annoyed me as I don’t think enough research has done on the long-term effects. I will never get the chance to try it as I had breast cancer diagnosed two days after I got married in 2012, and I’m now on Tamoxifen – the drug from hell: hot flushes, chemo-brain, weight gain, bladder infections … but I should be grateful as it’s saving my life.
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