I have been quoted before as having said I have had several different careers; I started my working life peeling potatoes as a weekend job in a Worcestershire pub, as a student I worked as a travel clerk at Digbeth Coach Station in Birmingham and Bracknell Bus Station, and then after graduating, undertook a graduate management placement with the then National Bus Company in Birmingham.
A move to London saw me change career direction, working in marketing and customer support for a multi-national company, before seeking a new challenge and finally becoming a marketing and publicity manager for a large car leasing business.
After our daughter Katie was born and with bank interest rates in double digits, we realised that living in London was not possible, and Mark, who was working as a geotechnical engineer for a global engineering consultancy, went in to work to ask for a transfer out of London. We expected to go back to Birmingham, but instead we were posted to Gaborone, Botswana. After Nelson Mandela was released, we were posted to Johannesburg and we spent four happy years there, returning to the UK briefly for the birth of our son, Nick. Whilst in Johannesburg, I volunteered at a marvellous centre supporting women and babies which enabled me to meet many people who have become lifelong friends.
“I would love to be able to visit as many community and voluntary groups and businesses who operate successful corporate social responsibility programmes as I can, to say thank you for what they do, so if you know of an organisation who would like a visit, please let me know.”
– Mandy Thorn
Working in social care
Our return to the UK was triggered by my mother’s declining health and we decided to leave South Africa and move to Shropshire, a decision we have never regretted.
Our children had the opportunity to live and be educated in this beautiful county and to spend a lot of time with their grandparents who were a central part of our lives. I joined my parents’ business and shared an office with my father for over a decade.
Working in social care – so very different from my previous corporate career – has been an incredible experience, and I am so very proud of the hundreds of colleagues I have known and worked with over the 36 years we had our family business.
We were privileged to support and care for people who had life limiting conditions, having been entrusted with their care by their families. We took that trust incredibly seriously and worked with many families to provide wrap-around care wherever possible. I learnt so much from the people I worked with and from those we cared for, and I remain immensely thankful that I was able to work with such amazing people.