Personal Life

Although I now live in a beautiful village in the Cotswolds, England, I was born and raised in Sidcup, Kent.

I loved school, being lucky enough to go to a wonderful state primary, Days Lane, and, in the days before the 11+ was abolished, one of the last local grammar schools, Beaverwood School for Girls (now a comprehensive).

I enjoyed this quiet suburban childhood till the age of 14, when my family relocated to Germany with my father’s job. I spent four years at Frankfurt International School, broadening my outlook as well as gaining the then brand new IB (International Baccalaureate).

I came back to the UK to earn my BA (Hons) in English and Related Literature at the University of York, then lived and worked for a while in London and the West of England as a journalist and PR consultant. You can find more details of what I did there at My Career).

In 1991, when I was 30, I moved to the Cotswolds, where I’d decided to live at the age of 3, on a farm holiday near Bourton-on-the-Water. I always knew I’d end up here eventually, but I still love to travel, usually in our family camper van. Every trip leads to a flurry of travelogues on my YoungByName blog.

In 2002, I married a Scot named Gordon whom I met in Swindon – and not, as village rumour once had it, a Swede named Scottie.

In 2003, our daughter Laura was born. She knows how lucky she was to grow up in such a wonderful rural community. Enid Blyton and the Famous Five would feel quite at home here.

I have no intention of ever moving house again. Unless to one with more bookshelves.