Beginning of a NEW ERA Three women show it's never too late to try something new

I took a chance on myself, and I'm so pleased I did'

- GILLIAN HARVEY

Amanda Wheal, 59, lives in Essex.

‘Congratulations!’ I wrote, under the social media post. It was August 2021, and James and Paige, former pupils of mine, had announced their engagement on Instagram. When they got in touch a few weeks later to ask me to marry them, it was the icing on the cake.

I’d spent over 30 years as a secondary school teacher and loved my job. But in 2018, when I wondered if there were new things I could try in life, I told my brother Roger, then 65, I was thinking of a change. He was my confidant and an inspiration – and had worked all over the world as an architectural designer. ‘Life is short,’ he’d told me. ‘You have to take a chance on yourself.’

Tragically, this was one of our last conversations, as he died unexpectedly in November 2018. Roger wasn’t religious, so we booked a celebrant, Jim Hoggart of Vox Celebrants, for his funeral. It fell to me to write the eulogy, and when I struggled, Jim was a great support.

On the day of the funeral in December, seeing the comfort the ceremony brought my family, I suddenly wondered whether this could be the career change I’d been looking for. Knowing I was in grief, I set myself a goal. If I still felt the same way by the summer, I’d investigate further.

That July, I contacted Jim, who recommended a training course. It was mainly distance learning and I realised I could do it alongside my day job. Eighteen months on, the course was complete and I retired from teaching.