While swans are reportedly dying in parts of Europe, victim of the much feared H5N1 virus strain, they were very much in evidence at the Wetland and Wildfowl Trust in Welney yesterday where scores of visitors watched them being fed. I last went to the reserve in...

There are many ways to boost one's confidence with public speaking besides standing up and speaking in front of an audience. There are more subtle methods that can be adopted and the one I chos was to volunteer as a trustee for a charity. This will hopefully reap many...

Another challenge I have set myself this year is to learn how to salsa the night away in true Cuban style. Wednesday evenings no longer mean another night of chores but smouldering Latin music with lots of shimmying and laughter. Last night was lesson four in my...

Why does it happen to me? Why do I freeze, and my throat dries and tightens? I have no real control over what I want to say and the way I deliver my thoughts in public. Two years ago I was asked to speak to a group of networking businesswomen about my work. I prepared...