"I was brought up in Yorkshire in the North of England, in a small village about 16miles from York. After leaving school I was lucky enough to get an American Field Scholarship (AFS) to live for a year with a family in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park and attend Oak Park and River Forest High School. It was one of the best years of my life! The generosity of the American people was overwhelming which sowed the seed for me to repay that kindness by becoming a Tour Guide and showing you around my country and hopefully giving you the same unforgettable experience that I was lucky enough to have all those years ago.
Of course at 18 years of age I didn't realise that that was to become my career! I did three years at Drama School in London and had young dreams of becoming another Helen Mirren, but a chance advert in The Times newspaper in 1978 for Tour Guides to take American holiday makers around Britain, changed those plans and that is what I have been doing ever since.
I qualified as a London Blue Badge Guide in 1988 and in 1995 after living for 20years in London I moved back to the North of England to a very pretty town called Kirkby Lonsdale, quite close to the Lake District. I started working for Grand Circle Travel in 2005, first on the OAT trip they operated over here and when that stopped I moved onto the BSC programme and absolutely love it.
I am very lucky to have a job that is so rewarding...my only complaint is that because it is so enjoyable the time goes too quickly..36years since I started...it can't be possible! I hope that if you are reading this, it's because I am to be your Programme Director and I want to let you know how excited I am at the prospect of introducing you to Britain and I am looking forward to an excellent tour".
