Scottish by birth and European by inclination, I am fortunate enough to be able to pursue as an occupation some things I am passionately interested in: language and communication, different cultures and dialogues, and our family histories, which are our common history.

My CV reflects the particular energy and inspiration that I find in apparent ‘opposites’ – our common humanity and our local traditions, linguistic perfection and communication without words, the modern world and how our ancestors lived.

So at university, alongside the history of rural Scotland I studied the great flowering of mediaeval European culture.  And after volunteering in Asia, I worked in remote Highland museums. From the cultural sector, I moved to the world of commerce, from the quiet Scottish countryside to bustling, entrepreneurial Tuscany.

I love to meet people and enjoy networking, but I also delight in time spent alone, researching in an archive.

So what better occupation could I have than :

• arranging travel experiences for clients and welcoming them to different cultures

• encouraging students to be able to communicate more widely and better

• helping clients understand their deeper past – and sometimes discover living relatives!