The story of Hungry Horace...

As a little girl I had dreams of working in an office, one of my quirks was to stand in the stationery aisle at the Supermarket and just stare in wonder at the many items available to me... I collected stationery, it was a little fetish of mine.

I dreamed of becoming a PA one day, I didn't particularly care who to, I just wanted the ultimate office/receptionist job that would mean I could own all the stationery available on the planet, dress up in nice clothes and answer the telephone in a posh voice.

I wanted to do all this before I had children... career first and children could come after.

Now, as is usually the case, my life didn't go according to plan... my mum was diagnosed with Cervical Cancer at the young age of 36.  Understandably, this was hard and from the age of 10 I became a carer, a cleaner, a cook and whatever else I needed to be to help my mum and dad cope.  I grew up very fast and my dream became a distant memory.

My decision was made when my mum sadly passed away 1 month before her 40th Birthday.  As a result of this my outlook changed... What if this happened to me?  What if I wait to have children and I end up poorly like my mum and never have any?  What if I have them and never get to see them grow up? I now wanted children first and my career could come later but I still dreamed of working in an office.  I did well in my exams, I went on to do an apprenticeship in Business Administration and I'd had 2 children by the time I was 22.  My kids are happy and healthy and I am still here to watch them grow up.

It turns out I was right to worry... as just like my mum I was going down the same path, at the same age, in terms of my health but having had the kids already and the experience of knowing what happens and how my kids would be affected, I opted to have a hysterectomy and stop it in its tracks early on.  This was the best decision for me and my children.

My kids are now 14 and 16 and I am only 36, this gives me the opportunity to now pursue my dream and although its morphed in to something more than a PA, it's something that I feel can help me put my stamp on this world.

Hungry Horace is a mechanism to utilise what I am good at and in turn help businesses grow - The name... a random name my mum blurted out one day when she was poorly, dosed up on painkillers, sat on the toilet with me in the bath.  This is one of many special moments I will never forget, one that keeps her memory alive, keeps her by my side as I pursue my dreams and a legacy of a daughter she would hopefully be proud of!

Maybe it was a sign... I hope so!