THE JOY OF LEARNING

By making time for something new you could find unexpected rewards, as these women have

- JANE KEMP

'My enthusiasm for wine led to a new job offer'

Patricia Dearlove, 60, lives with her daughter Millie, 26, in St Leonards, East Sussex.

By my mid-20s I had qualified as an English teacher, left home and had a place of my own. Entertaining was one of my greatest pleasures, and I took pride in serving a good wine to my friends with the meal. We weren't glugging through bottles for the sake of it - the fun was in discussing each wine's merits.

Although I loved the idea of working in the wine industry, I needed the financial stability of my teaching job. I was a single mum in my 30s, and the school holidays gave me quality time with Millie, plus the chance to travel, visiting vineyards abroad. When Millie was three, we moved to Salisbury. Keen to meet like-minded people, I enrolled on a WSET level 2 course [Wine & Spirit Education Trust, wsetglobal.com]. I met a great group and we established a wine appreciation club, calling ourselves the Cathedral Corkers. We're all still friends today.

I left full-time teaching in 2014 to establish my own dyslexia consultancy business in Hove. However, when lockdown hit in March 2020, I decided to keep busy by taking online courses with the Wine Scholar Guild, including French Wine Scholar and Italian Wine Scholar. I enjoyed them so much that I later enrolled for a Level 3 qualification from the WSET, with Kent Wine School.

DREAM ROLE

My enthusiasm must have shown, because one of the tutors suggested I apply for a part-time position like hers, as a wine educator and tour host at the Gusbourne vineyard in Appledore (gusbourne.com) - a dream job combining my skills as a teacher and my passion for wine.