About Me
I taught primary schoolchildren for almost twenty years before retiring very early in 1991 due to illness. During the decade following my retirement from teaching (at the ridiculously early age of 39) my health deteriorated more and more, although sometimes I felt quite well, and often for long periods. In 1995 I sought help from a new specialist, who at once recognised that medication I had been taking for a number of years to remedy my illness was actually exacerbating it. He sorted me out, and life was sweet again for five years.
Then, in 2000, the unthinkable happened. I was diagnosed with breast cancer. But - I'm still here and I wrote the book 'Courage, Brave Amazon' to help other women (and their partners) who suffer with this disease. There are still times when I feel really exhausted and cannot do much except sleep. But when I DO feel well, the world knows it! I cannot sit still for long and get out and about whenever I can. In other words, I enjoy life to the full, happy to share it with my dear husband and friend, Pete.
Pete and I have been married for 37 years. The years have been far from easy, with more than our fair share of emotional crises, but we have triumphed over each one, and from this we have gained strength. With each trial that has come along we feel our love has grown stronger, that we have been brought even closer.
We have one daughter, Lucy. She's a wonderful young woman and it is thanks to her skills in website design that you are reading this now. Whenever possible, (and as any parent with teenage children will tell you, it isn't always!) Lucy was reared with unconditional love. I didn't flinch when she dyed her hair a vibrant shade of purple shortly after starting university; in fact I really thought it suited her personality and the last thing on my mind was disapproval. My view as a parent was always that my child was not me, she had her own ideals, and above all her own values, desires and longings. My job as her mother was, I felt, to nurture her self-worth, not to try to make her be like me, or like us. This philosophy appears to have been effective, because Lucy is capably independent, living her own life as she wants it to be, and most of all she is still very close to us. She and I share a very special relationship, and most importantly we are friends. This is something I treasure.
I've done a few challenging things during my later life. I've written and published a book of my poetry, titled 'When Our Children Rule'. It's now out of print but I have a few copies left. One thousand were printed and all but around thirty have been sold. I sung and played keyboard, flute and fiddle in a folk band for a couple of years. I've worked voluntarily for the RSPCA and still do take an interest in animal welfare issues.
For several years I belonged to a local drama group. Roles I took were Maria Marten (The Murders in the Red Barn), the Snow Queen herself, Hannah Llewellyn alias Polly Peacham (Ayckbourne's 'A Chorus of Disapproval'), Elvira ('Blithe Spirit'), The Ghost of Christmas Past (Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol'). This Dickens tale is my all time favourite, and has been since I was introduced to it at the age of ten by my schoolteacher. I read this book hungrily every year, on the 1st December, a tradition I never fail to keep. This story is full of sentiment and compassion, a gift to Humanity from a man who was indeed a humanist. Dickens was someone I'd have loved to have met and conversed with. I've always found his 'Christmas Carol' inspirational.
My dedication to the native spirituality of Britain began in earnest around 1990, although throughout my life I've always had a leaning towards the ancient ways. To follow this pathway is to find Deity in all living things; to honour the Earth and all creation, to be in tune with the environment one finds oneself in, to embrace values that transcend material things, and to honour, respect and revere the 'old wisdom' of our ancestors.
My belief is that we come here to experience and get the most out of every age of life. With age I have found serenity. I still love to dance to the music of The Rolling Stones despite my now creaking knees! I like to listen to all kinds of music. Neil Young and George Harrison are two that I can play all day. I love to listen to the dijeridoo, and any form of tribal music. Most of all I enjoy playing my lovely old John Broadwood piano. At college I was a grade 8 pianist, but this was only achieved through doing 3 or 4 hours of practice each day. Two pieces I love to play are Debussy's 'Arabesque No. 1', and 'Dream of Olwen'.
Since discovering the beauty of the music of the contemporary Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi in 2009 whilst listening to one of his pieces (Le Onde) on Classic FM, I have been playing his compositions to the exclusion of all else. His music really struck a chord with me (apologies for such a terrible pun!) from that first experience of hearing it. I strongly identify with the chords and chordal progressions he uses, as well as with the simplistic nature of his melodies; this is by no means an implication that they are simple to play, however; the magnitude of the range of dynamics especially is a most powerful, influential factor to be observed very carefully if Einaudi's pieces are to be delivered according to his original intent and design.
What I really like about his piano pieces is that they offer plenty of opportunity to include one's own style of interpretation and use of imagination. If one combines an accurate observation of the dynamics and other written indications, coupled with personal interpretation where appropriate, one cannot help but enjoy creating an experience of what I can only describe as transcendental beauty, fulfillment and spiritual upliftment; a haven of peace in this noisy and stressful world. I regard Ludovico Einaudi as a composer of a new, long-awaited style of classical music for the twenty-first century. His evocative melodies and harmonic patterns are employed within a flexible framework of classical form, embracing all the qualities one would expect to find in the music of a composer of Einaudi's standing in today's world.
For someone reading this, who may feel a need for something new and soothing to listen to as you battle through your treatment, or if you are striving to deal with the terrifying shock of a positive diagnosis, I really believe Einaudi could be the composer for you. Whilst on the subject of Ludovico Einaudi's music I would like to tell you about a series of piano recitals I have planned to give in October this year, 2010. I will be playing Einaudi's music to raise money for Cancer Research UK and Marie Curie Cancer Care. This year sees the tenth anniversary of my own diagnosis, treatment and return to health after developing breast cancer in 2000, and I wish to do something to help other people who are afflicted with this devastating disease, or who will be in the future. Cancer Research UK does a vast amount of work and research into breast cancer, and I would like to raise as much money as I can for this organisation. More details to come soon!
I have undertaken elementary training in counselling, and I'm also a befriender for the Society for Post Natal Illness. The chief aim of this website is to offer help and support to sufferers of breast cancer, their partners, relatives and friends. I am indebted to my daughter Lucy for setting up the site and making this possible. Thanks Lu, you're one in a billion!