How did your interests in ageing begin, and why?
At 30 I reviewed where I was in life. Since qualifying as a nurse I had worked mainly in intensive care and was beginning to feel the stress getting the better of me. I decided I wanted to leave hospital nursing and applied for the post of manager of a 132 bedded nursing home in Germany. That was almost 30 years ago! I have never regretted it and have continuously been trying to do what I can to improve life in care homes both for the older people who live there and those employed to work there.

What are your key areas of interest, and why?
Almost answered that in the first question! At present my key interest is in sleep in care homes. I am part of the NDA funded SomnIA (Sleep in Ageing) research project led by Sara Arber. I lead a work package that will identify the determinants of poor sleep in care homes. Emma Cope, the wonderful researcher on the project has just completed the data collection from 10 care homes, involving 140 older people. There is a wealth of data providing an in-depth view of care home life throughout the day and night. This accompanies the data from the Actiwatches the residents wore to measure their activities and exposure to light for a two week period. We are now analysing the data and the findings will contribute towards improving sleep in care homes and that in turn will increase the quality of life experienced by older people who live there.

Please can you briefly outline your career?
I went into nursing after leaving school in Germany and continued in nursing and the care of older people in both England and Germany until eight years ago when I found what Kate Davidson describes as ‘a hens tooth’. I was successful in gaining an ESRC studentship to complete my PhD. In 1996 I had started to do an MSc in Gerontology: Policy, Care and Practice at the University of Surrey. Sara Arber was the first lecturer I encountered on the course and I feel I haven’t looked back considering I am now still working with her. After the first year I decided I would like to do a PhD and went to talk to Kate, at the time completing her PhD, who sent me to Sara. Next thing I knew Sara was supervising my MSc dissertation and was willing to take me on as a PhD student. After the ESRC studentship, I worked with Sara as a researcher, and then after completing my PhD found yet another ‘hens tooth’ in the form of an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship. This I did in the Department of Sociology at the University of Surrey with Kate as my mentor. In autumn 2004 I was offered a lectureship and moved over to what is now the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Surrey. I’m still there and probably will be until I retire.

What's been the biggest change in ageing research since you started?
Research Ethics which was much needed.

What do you find is your biggest challenge in your current post?
On a personal level it is balancing research and teaching, finding the time to write to meet RAE commitments. Overall it is attracting enough postgraduate students to participate in courses focusing on older people. In health and social care it is much needed and in theory there is interest but there currently appears to be a lack of follow through when it comes to funding students to attend courses offered.

What do you like best about your work?
The challenges involved in being part of a successful research bid, designing and undertaking the research, then disseminating the findings. To some extent I see teaching as part of the dissemination process.

What do you like least about your work?
Red tape, I appreciate structure is necessary and procedures are required to ensure an organisation can function effectively and efficiently but sometimes things do go too far.

What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given?
‘Go and talk to Sara’ given by Kate Davidson when I inquired about doing a PhD.

What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given that you didn't listen to?
Learn to do shorthand and typing! I was 15 at the time and stubbornly refused to take part in the lessons. I had only been living in Germany for a year although my spoken German was fairly fluent I was still struggling to come to terms with writing longhand German. I also feared I’d be forced to go and work in an office. That I was certain I did not want to do! However, shorthand would have come in very useful to take lecture notes and during my time as BSG Honorary Secretary Elect and as Honorary Secretary. Taking minutes was not my strong point! Being able to type would have been a great help when I started to use a computer. I type with one hand, have to keep my eyes on the keyboard and still manage to hit the wrong keys!

What was the first record that you ever bought?
Can’t remember the title of the record although I do remember the event!

What book are you reading at the moment?
A book titled ‘Eat, pray, love’ by Elizabeth Gilbert. It was a Christmas gift from my sister-in-law.

What three things would you take to a desert island with you, and why?
My big sombrero-like sun hat that will protect much of my body from the sun, a solar powered laptop so that I could write to my hearts content and play solitaire or spider for a bit of mental exercise. My little Swiss penknife would be my third item as that would help me survive whilst also giving me a chance to see if I’d be any good at whittling wood. However, in the sprit of Desert Island Discs I suspect the last two items might not be approved. In that case it would be an MP3 player loaded with music to keep my spirits up and a comfort blanket as a luxury to keep me cosy and warm at night.

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