About me

I am a fully certified funeral celebrant, having obtained the certificate of Distinction in Funeral Celebrancy from the Academy of Professional Celebrants.

I was born and raised in Scotland but have called Bedford home since moving here in 1998.

I have spent most of my professional career working in education. I trained as a teacher in 1991 and worked in schools in Leeds, Ghana, Milton Keynes and Bedfordshire. I retired from teaching after 20 years by which time I had worked as Head of School in two Bedfordshire Upper Schools.

Two critical events lead to me changing my life path: within the space of a year my brother-in-law, Bob, died from a brain tumour at age 46 and I was diagnosed with a hereditary condition, Haemochromatosis.

It was helping my sister plan for Bob’s funeral that sowed the first thoughts of funeral celebrancy, although the idea didn’t take root until more recently when a very dear friend died by suicide.

Both events enabled me to understand the immeasurable privilege in helping families say goodbye to their loved ones. A ceremony which is personalised and done well, stays with us forever and helps in the grieving process.

As a writer and musician, I understand the importance of music and words in key events and work tirelessly to ensure the correct blend to accompany every service I deliver.

Funeral celebrancy provides the perfect vehicle to combine my life experience, skills set, natural empathy, presentation skills and professional approach to a new, fulfilling, meaningful career.

Grief is hard.

I would like to help.