I’VE LIVED IN West Hill with Iain and our two cats, Cookie and Freebo, since moving to Brighton in 2008. I’m originally from Warwickshire, but always wanted to live on the coast and, following ten years in London, we decided to head south.

We took a bit of a detour, however! Having originally planned to move to Brighton in 2005, my employer offered me a great opportunity to work overseas and we ended up heading slightly further south than we had originally planned – we moved to Sri Lanka in 2006.  At that time the country was recovering from the 2004 tsunami, but living and working in Sri Lanka was a fantastic experience and a real privilege. It is a truly beautiful and diverse country.

We came back from Sri Lanka two years later and we moved straight to West Hill. We nursed ourselves through the culture shock by becoming semi-regulars at the Battle of Trafalgar and Sussex Yeoman, both of which also helped me to get to grips with my commute to London. I work in communications and have a lot of experience working for not-for-profits, including professional associations and unions. I currently lead all marketing, communications and commercial teams for the Royal College of Occupational Therapists, as well heading their programme to move their business operations onto digital platforms. I’m also a trustee of Oasis Project (www.oasisproject.org.uk), a charity which provides support for women in Brighton and Hove who are experiencing drug and alcohol problems.

As I think many people have done, we started to get a bit more involved in the West Hill community by attending the fabulous Quiz! Everyone was so welcoming that our trips to the Hall soon included not just going to the Quiz every month, but also to the local history talks, getting involved in the Grand Christmas Sale, and now becoming a trustee. I’m really looking forward to getting more involved and establishing firmer roots in West Hill – we really love the area and really can’t see ourselves living anywhere else.