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!"
Bu hikaye WOMAN'S OWN dergisinin June 24, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye WOMAN'S OWN dergisinin June 24, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
FAST & THRIFTY DINNERS
Filling family meals to save you time and money
ARE VIRAL FITNESS TRENDS WORTH THE HYPE?
Keen to know if the workouts she sees online can actually make her fitter, Rachel Tompkins, 44, gives them a try
GO OUT OF SEASON
While some European cities seem to go into hibernation over winter, others just get better in the colder months
MY LIFE IN MUSIC
Monica Cafferky, 55, reveals how certain tunes bring back special memories
THE DECISION THAT CHANGED MY LIFE
After trying diets without success, Breanne Concannon, 31, was left feeling hopeless
MY TOY ΒΟΥ KEEPS ME YOUNG
For Trish Hughes, 44, the thrills of being married to a man 20 years younger is worth all the judgement
'THAT'S NOT MY BABY'
Lying in the hospital bed, my husband Michael had tears of happiness in his eyes as he showed me a photo on his phone. 'Here she is,' he said proudly. 'This is our beautiful baby girl.'I stared at the photo and shook my head. 'No, that's not my baby,' I said. 'There must be a mistake.'It was August 2010 and I'd not long before had an emergency caesarean. I'd not had a chance to see Winnie when she arrived as she'd been whisked away for tests because she was nearly two months premature.
CAUGHT IN THE ACT
Hayley, 45, has her son to thank for crucial evidence
'I'D LOVE TO DO EASTENDERS'
Loose Women's Linda Robson on the daytime show, dating and her next career move
Beckhams INSIDE THEIR PROPERTY EMPIRE
We take a look at the power couple's posh pads
