I was born in Cheshire and educated at St. Helen’s grammar school where I studied A levels in 3 foreign languages before deciding that I didn’t enjoy the literature side of this. So, I switched to Maths, Further Maths and Physics A levels instead and did these in a year at St. Helen’s Technical College on a course especially designed for me!! This enabled me to go to Manchester University when I was 17, where I achieved a B.Sc. Hons. (1st class) by the time I was 20.

I now live with my husband in beautiful Rutland. My married daughter lives locally, so I enjoy spending time with her and my local grown up grandchildren when they are around . My married son lives in Kent but I still manage to see him and his family whenever possible.

For 16 years, I took a local Italian class (unpaid) and still learn Italian, French and German and a little direly difficult Hungarian. I have learned/improved these these languages using Duolingo every single day since 2014 (and longer regarding Italian, French and German) My other interests are designing PowerPoint quizzes, attending weekly tai’ chi classes, playing my autoharp, as well as going to Verdi operas whenever I can.

There is never enough time in the day.........

All my Presentations are done using PowerPoint, each with varying amounts of music, and my own photographs. The talks last between 50 and 60 minutes, dependent on your requirements. I have three from which you can choose. The Verdi one is my personal favourite and seems to appeal to all, whether they have any interest in classical music or not.

I bring my own high-powered laptop I but need the venue to supply a up-to-date digital projector, compatible with modern, high-powered laptops, and an hdmi lead, otherwise the pictures are not visible! Someone will need to link the equipment to my laptop. I have my own speakers for small Groups if needs be. Large venues need to provide a sound system. I also need a screen. If you don’t have a modern digital projector, but do have an earlier version, I can bring my older laptop which will be compatible. The sound quality obviously isn’t as good but everyone still seems to enjoy it.

Fees vary according to distance travelled. I live near Oakham in the East Midlands, and will, regrettably, be charging £90 to local organisations starting in 2024. (The Navajo Talk is less complicated, so I will charge £80 for this one) Some Groups have actually paid me more than asked for after having seen/listened to my offerings but, as some Groups are charities, I don’t expect that. Further away, I add on very reasonable travel expenses for fuel and time. I prefer daytime talks as I am, annoyingly, no longer able to drive in the dark.

I try to make my Talks both fun and informative. Even the one on radio, optical and neutrino telescopes is fairly light-hearted and not too technical, so appeals to anyone.