I am fifty-eight years old and married. My husband is vicar of two rural parishes in North Warwickshire and we have three grown-up children. Our middle child is severely autistic and while acting as carer for him, I ran my own cross-stitch business, designing and producing charts and kits.

The rest of my working life has been in administration and management, which includes a hospital in Toronto, a Rural Community Council, Littlewoods Delivery Service, a Christian Charity and a parish church.

I have an MA in English Literature with Merit and a BA (Hons) in Leadership and Management, both obtained through the Open University. Holidays are spent cruising the inland waterways of Britain with my husband, on our narrowboat.