I was born and brought up in Smethwick, Warley and have lived all my life in the West Midlands. 

 

I originally trained and worked in pharmacology at Birmingham University Medical School before changing to a career in Environmental Health that sustained me for over 30 years in Birmingham City Council.  In 1997 I left this work and subsequently ran a successful food safety consultancy, including training, with my husband.

 

Since my early 20's I have undertaken voluntary work with a range of organisations and charities including: the Probation Service, the Friends of (Redditch) Alexandra Hospital, the National Trust, the Blue Cross Animal Rehoming Centre, the Birmingham Homeless Shelter, and the local Primrose and Acorns Hospices.

 

In the early 2000s I was a patient at the Primrose Hospice in Bromsgrove. When I recovered from my illness I began work as a volunteer and for 8 years I was their Trust and Grant Fundraiser. I continue to work as a committed volunteer at Primrose which brings me into regular contact with patients at the end of their life, their carers, and those bereaved.

 

I believe that my upbringing and life experience enable me to interact with people from all backgrounds and walks of life in a compassionate way, with absolute integrity.  It would be my pleasure to work with you at a very stressful and sorrowful time in your life.