You can put me in a black bin bag and sling me down the bottom of the garden

Stella 61 married with two grown up children. Works full time as a school administrator.

How are you?

I’m a little pissed off. I miss my kids very much. Kids become your life, now they've fled the nest I’m lonely and I worry if me and my husband are going to get back to where we were before.

What gets you out of bed in the morning?

Work! (laughing) I rarely feel I don’t want to go to work. I’ve been there twenty years. It’s been the perfect job and as the kids grew the job grew. Now I'm full time. 

How do you best express yourself?

I swear a lot, but you didn’t mean that did you? (laughing) 

I love crafts, stencilling, paint effects, card making and calligraphy, gardening and colour. I can spend hours wrapping a present, curling the ribbon and making it look pretty. I’m an aesthetic person, I notice the little things. I’ll happily pay an extra fiver for a pretty broche or button on a jumper. I'm funny about colours on a plate of food; I don't like food to look bland. For example - if everything looks white; cauliflower, pasta and chicken with a white sauce it doesn't do it for me - there has to be colour!

Who or what inspires you?

My Dad inspired me. He had a good attitude to life. He was a prisoner of war in Italy for two years. Nothing can be as bad as that so why get yourself in a tiz? If you've got your arms, legs and a fiver in your pocket what else do you need?

How do you feel about death and dying?

I don’t think about it much. You can worry about it but it’s not going to stop it from happening. But when it’s my turn you can put me in a black bin bag and sling me down the bottom of the garden!