I have a confession to make: this photograph was taken by my late husband in 2017- before he was diagnosed with a brain tumour, before my son died of a heroin overdose in 2018 and before my husband died 10 months later. I might look a little more battered these days but I’m still here with my hairy companion enjoying whatever sunshine comes my way.
We live in a village on the edge of Dartmoor and walk beside the river every day. He puts up with the songs I sing as I walk along and when I stop to sit on ‘my’ tree and write and drink tea, he settles down to eat sticks. He has in many ways built my community for me: you meet nice people walking a dog and they’ll talk to him where they wouldn’t think to do the same for me.
The official bit: I was a professional homoeopath for 20 years, including 8 years teaching and 12 years working with bereaved families and children with life threatening illness. I’ve been ordained an Interfaith Minister since 2010 and have held many ceremonies, mostly funerals but some baby blessings and weddings as well. I’m a mentor, a spiritual counsellor and a supervisor and also a doula for the birthing and the dying. I lived in Findhorn for 2 years running a lodge within the spiritual community there. I have run many and varied retreats and was also general manager of a 20 bed retreat centre here on the edge of Dartmoor until December 2022.
My joys: running MoorHeart Threshold Singers group, a small women’s group of acapella singers, who sing for people on the threshold of life; writing stories; discovering new places and cultures; being with friends, especially if it involves eating cake; and BIG BIG joy, being with my darling, beautiful, baby grandson and witnessing my daughter be a wonderful mother.