Walking around the zoo with my baby boy on my hip, feeding the monkeys and meerkats, I couldn't believe this was now my home. If you'd told me four years ago that I'd have ditched my office job in the NHS to spend my days running a zoo, I'd never have believed you.
My partner Ryan, 28, and I met online and had our first date at a restaurant near my home in Essex in October 2019. As we sat chatting, Ryan told me he worked as a tiger keeper at Colchester Zoo. It's not your average job, and I have to admit I was impressed. He said it was his dream to own a zoo one day, and I was instantly struck by how passionate he was - although I never believed it would actually happen.
In June 2020, we moved in together. Ryan was always on the lookout for land for his zoo, and he'd make plans and sketches of how it might look.
I still thought it was just a pipe dream, until in May 2021, he found an old, derelict zoo site for sale.
He'd worked there years ago when it was a zoo called Tropical Wings.
A few weeks later, he came home, saying, 'We've got the keys!"
この記事は WOMAN'S OWN の June 24, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は WOMAN'S OWN の June 24, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
MIND OF MY OWN
The Woman's Own columnist has her say on the gender gap, cats and timed hugs
Check out CHICAGO
With a spectacular skyline, sandy beaches and great food, the Windy City is calling, says Zoe West
LET'S EMBRACE OUR CHRISTMAS TAT!
Becky Dickinson explains why she'll still be rocking around her tinsel-strewn tree this year
BURIED SECRETS
We look at the shocking cases of celebrities posthumously accused of being sexual predators-and how they got away with it
FESTIVE NO-BAKES
Pop on the Christmas tunes and whip up a batch of these easy sweet treats
PROTECT YOUR SMILE
Are you doing enough to look after your teeth and gums?
'TIS THE SEASON TO SHINE!
At last, Hayley McCrossan, 39, feels fit and healthy
FOR THE LOVE OF TOM
When Deborah Mitchell, 57, lost her son, she vowed to help other families facing the same heartbreak
THE NURSE WHO LEFT MY GRANDAD FOR DEAD belict
Rachael Fealey, 31, had one question for the woman who killed her beloved Grampa - how could you?
Coleen's MONEY WORRIES
What are the reasons behind her financial and marriage fears?