One of my takeaways from the Conference I attended was to make myself more visible to you
so here are 25 facts about me that you probably never knew about me.
1. I’m an Essex girl. I grew up in Thorpe Bay (the awfully posh part of Southend on Sea).
2. I attended Lucy Clayton Finishing School and learned to walk with a book balancing on my head (its true!) and it also made me fully equipped to get in and out of a sports car without showing my knicks!!
3. I have a very close family unit. My father (sadly no longer alive) was a Chartered
Accountant and my mother still lives in the family home where I was born (literally). I am one of 4 sisters and I have one brother; my youngest sister lives in Australia (so I popped in to see her whilst I’m here).
4. I love singing and dancing. When I was 10 (ish) I was on TV in ‘Songs of Praise’ with my choir. I was also the lead singer of a rock band for a while.
5. I’ve almost lost count of the jobs I have held but here are a few: nanny, factory
worker, City trader (Eurobonds), croupier, hotel manager (Yorkshire), financial adviser, pub manager (Sussex), nightclub manager (London), recruitment consultant, HR administrator, PA, Double-glazing telesales, Sales Rep – and of course Pilates Instructor, Personal Trainer and now Transformational Life Coach!
6. I lived in Bahrain for a couple of years, initially moving there when I was an air stewardess then I stayed to run a bar.
7. I always wanted children. I
was convinced I would have 4 of them! Sadly this never happened for me and it is the biggest regret in my life.
8. For the past 5 years I have been writing a monthly column for the Petworth & Midhurst Observer newspaper as ‘the Pilates Coach’.
9. I have 3 published cookbooks under my name.
10. My private clients include Bryan Ferry.
11. I enjoy painting in my spare time and if you saw my work you would recognise that I’m clearly not a
trained artist but I’m still proud of the pictures I have done. I did however manage to win 3rd prize in a local village show!
12. I hold a Silver-Gilt medal certificate for a small garden entry at the Chelsea Flower Show (can’t say that I was much involved with the process but hey – I still earned a certificate!)
13. I achieved my first ever Triathlon last year and am doing it again this year.
14. Another past time I love is horse riding and I have
won a few rosettes in my time.
15. I had a strict religious upbringing and used to sing in the Church choir. I attended Crusaders, Brownies, girl Guides (until I was asked to leave!). This I have to admit turned me off religion but I do remain a very spiritual person in non-religious terms.
16. I love a drink (if you know what I mean!)
17. My schooling was pretty rubbish. I went to college to do my GCSE’s and didn’t go on to
University. I used to be uncomfortable with this but my life has been very rich in experiences and I’ve learned a lot from life…..
18. I invest heavily in my business and myself and this has exceeded £50k in the past 5 years. This keeps my work fresh with ideas and has taught me that I am the only person who can choose to make my life’s path.
19. I was first qualified in the world of fitness in 1994 as an aerobic instructor. I was living in London at
the time and I ran a successful little class in a boxing club until a high impact jump ended with my foot crashing through the floorboard. I figured I needed a better venue but didn’t return to teaching until 1999.
20. My favourite colour is orange. My 3 favourite meals would be (in no particular order), stone baked pizza, the full roast chicken meal and any Thai food.
21. I used to have regular sun beds (back in the day) and in one very embarrassing episode
I ended up stark naked in the reception area believing it to be the ladies changing room!
22. I’ve travelled extensively around the world for both work and pleasure. I just love travelling and prefer off the beaten track places rather than the obvious touristy haunts.
23. I loved the trilogy ‘50 Shades of Grey’! I saw the film in Oz and thought I’d put this one in, as it seems to be like marmite – you either love it or hate it. I am a big fan of Linda
LaPlante’s books. I don’t read as much fiction as I would like to as I always have my nose in 3 or 4 factual and/or self-improvement books that I will be reading simultaneously.
24. I had a big wake-up call last year when I turned 50. I came to realise that I wanted more from life than what I was giving myself. I ended my marriage and started on a journey to live out all my desires and my goals.
25. I feel blessed to make an income from what I love
doing; fitness, nutrition and mindset and now Life Coaching.
