Insider guide? What does that mean exactly?Let me tell you...

I qualified as a London Blue Badge Guide in 2005. I'd led a few walking tours before that, but in that year I got serious. Getting my Blue Badge was no mean feat. Yet it was worth it. Now, guiding is my life, and I couldn't be happier.

It's taken me a long time to get here...

I was born in London and have lived and loved here all my life. I've had a number of jobs in the past. I trained to be an English teacher (my degree is in English literature); I have taught English as a foreign language, managed a tour operating business; practised variously as an aromatherapist, reflexologist, astrologer, and for several years I was a journalist, becoming an editorial director of a magazine publishing company. It was all about communicating, but now it seems to me like a long drawn out preparation to what I really wanted to do.

Now I restrict my activities to guiding, writing and lecturing - but as I confine it all to London and England - I've become a serious specialist.

As a guide, I tackle most things. I''m happy to guide your group on a coach around London, or take you on a day trip to Stonehenge and Bath, Oxford and Stratford, Canterbury, wherever.

Or guide a highlights tour of an art gallery, or museum.

Member of the City of London Guide-Lecturers Association

(Full Public Liability insurance provided by professional memberships)

London - I'm into everything to do with it - in the past - and today.(Why on earth did it take me so long to become a London guide?)

History (of course). But I admit to relishing the gossip, the scuttlebutt of times gone by. It's people who bring history alive.

English literature. I adore all the greats: Shakespeare, Chaucer, Dickens, Jane Austen. But I'm not snobbish. You could easily catch me with my nose in Bridget Jones Diary, the Da Vinci Code or Hello Magazine.

Art, music, theatre. I'm so lucky to live in London where all the great names in all fields just arrive on my doorstep.

Britain. Each year, I explore new parts of Britain too. It's so amazingly diverse, in its landscape, its style of living, even its people.

What interests me the most as a guide....

The thing that really fascinates me and links all of my interests is PEOPLE - and their lives. That's what I inject into my tours. Yes, on my coach tours I'll point out historical buildings, interesting architectural features; on my walking tours I'll tell you what went on, or goes on in particular streets, shops and buildings; I'll describe the techniques employed by artists and craftsmen in galleries and museums; I'll tell you about what plays are showing, and what beer to drink in an English pub; but what I really enjoy is telling anecdotes about PEOPLE!

Every day I delve into the lives of famous people of the past, so I can tell funny or interesting anecdotes about them. I'm also constantly looking out for gossipy items about living celebs, the things they get up to when they think no-one's watching'.

I also find myself drawn to tales of notoriety and scandal, sub-cultures, things that are rather strange or mysterious.

None of this is necessary, though. London is a dish you can serve straight and it'll still knock your socks off. So if you prefer, I can leave out the spice. Just let me know.