Getting to know me

As you might already know, I’m a communications consultant, copywriter and diver working in the conservation and sustainability sector. But, if you want to get to know me a bit better, here are a few fun facts:

• I have a very friendly ginger tomcat called Dave who dominates my Instagram. I also have a neurotic tabby called Tigerlily who is needy, terrified of everything and completely obsessed with me.
• When I was about 13, I learned to touch type. I used to help my mum with admin at her work during school holidays and she insisted I learn to type ‘properly’. I hated it at the time but I’m grateful now. Being able to type around 70wpm without looking at the keys is pretty useful!
• When I certified as a scuba diver (aged around 20), I absolutely hated the pool skills. I thought I ‘just needed to get through’ the course and I’d never dive again. But as soon as I was in the ocean, I fell in love. Over a decade later, I’m a Rescue Diver with around 250 logged dives. What's more scuba diving has been an important part of my career.
• Before focusing on conservation and sustainability, I worked with a huge range of PR clients both in-house and agency side. Toured the main London publishing houses in an ice cream van? Had a day of meetings accompanied by a man painted gold? Launched a ‘halloumi only’ restaurant? When it comes to the weird world of PR, I’ve done it all…!
• As well as scuba diving and yoga, I’m learning aerial hoop classes. It’s really fun but probably not the best choice for me because I bruise like a peach. So, if you see my arms and legs covered in purple bruises (we call them ‘hoop kisses’), that’s probably why.  
• Despite writing mainly about the ocean and marine biology, the last time I studied science was at GCSE…and it was one of my least favourite subjects!
• I love to travel and discover new countries, especially if I can go diving there. But I also hate to be cold. So, most of the countries I’ve visited, and dived at, are tropical, including: Mozambique, Australia, Bali, Thailand, the Cayman Islands, Fiji, South Africa, the Philippines and lots more. I have been scuba diving in the UK but I need lots of persuading to get into water that cold!
• When I lived in Mozambique, I had a 'pet' scorpion who lived in my bathroom. His name was Donald.
• Despite having spent lots of time in Mozambique, my Portuguese is still much worse than I’d like. Hopefully one day I’ll be able to have a proper conversation rather than just order ‘frango e arroz’
• I’m pretty adventurous and love to try new things: paragliding, ziplining, sky diving, swimming with sharks. Apart from bungee jumping (eeep, no thanks), I’ll try almost anything at least once.
• When I was visiting the Caribbean island of Nevis, I got ‘mask squeeze’ from a poorly fitting mask. When I came up from the dive, I had a huge black eye. Travelling on my own during off season with a huge shiner was certainly an interesting experience.
• I love spicy food: the more chilli the better!
• Outside comms and writing, I also do a bit of house sitting. I look after people’s pets while they’re on holiday so they don’t have to put their animals in a cattery or kennel.
• Despite loving coffee, I'm really sensitive to caffeine. I can't drink a coffee on an empty stomach and if I have any coffee after lunchtime, I won't sleep all night. So, no espresso martinis for me sadly.
• I’ve been lucky enough to see so many marine animals in their natural habitat. I’ve seen hammerhead sharks, turtles (including a leatherback!), humpback whales, whale sharks, manta rays, leopard sharks, dugong, seals, small eye stingrays and more.
• Some animals I would still love to see in the wild include basking sharks, orca, sunfish and flamboyant cuttlefish.

I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit more about me!