Who Am I?

Not an existential question (although the world would be a better place if we all took time to contemplate that one), but an actual attempt to describe myself via some frequently asked questions...

 

Me at about 5. I still rock that fringe. 

And I really wish I still had that dress.  

1. What do you do? 
In 2021, I quit from the rewarding but exhausting role of managing museums to go freelance as a museum consultant. This is equally as rewarding but without the exhaustion that comes from trying to juggle 100 different volunteer opinions and needs alongside the public, the building and the collection. 

It also, most importantly, means that I could go part time so I could study for my RHS LEvel 2 in Practical Horticulture, which is the first step in my long-term goal of running my own plant nursery.

2. Horticulture? Really? 
Yes. Like a lot of people, 2020 did a lot of breaking down what were normal patterns in our house and, for the first time ever, and with a lot of financial carefulness and a fair wind, I've been able to take a partial career break at the age of 45 in order to follow a dream. It's quite discombobulating. I keep waiting for someone to yell at me to go back to work.

4. What happened to all the cheese?
I ate it. Next.

5. Did you really? 
Yes. I did not, however, eat all the bread. I'm currently gluten-free, the latest in a line of attempts to bring my eczema under control. This can mean you'll find me in bread aisles, looking mournful if not actually crying. Occasionally I'll think "fuck it", eat it and then wait for a fit of the scratchies to arrive. Hurrah!

 

Seriously, only ever been without that fringe once. A teacher told me I had an “Elizabethan" forehead. By which she meant BIG. From such throwaway comments are life long body issues raised. 

Anyway, my makeup skills aren't that much improved either.  

 6. Why are you reading over my shoulder?

Because I stupidly forgot my own book. Now hurry up and turn the page, I've read the last paragraph 3 times and it's killing me. 

7. Just how much do you read and does that leave time for other things like, you know, life? 

I read around 80 books a year, anything from 3 to 8 a month. They get read in the bath, in bed, on the sofa, on the train, waiting for appointments... You get the idea. When I commuted, I read 143 in one year. I eagerly await the arrival of the football season as it means that will be on the telly and I can read instead of, I don't know, pretending to listen to N. 

 

8. Would you like a drink? 

Why yes, yes I would, thank you. Mine's a gluten-free pint or a massive glass of a really full-bodied red. Do not get me cider.