Having spent many very happy years working in the academic research environment since being awarded my PhD (London University) in 1993, family demands finally called for a more flexible work-life balance. In 2009 I became a freelance archaeobotanist/palaeobotanist specializing in modern, archaeological (including charcoal) and fossil (angiosperm and gymnosperm) wood identification to further understanding of past environments. Alongside this specialist work, I have maintained an active interest in wood anatomy and palaeobotany/palaeoecology by acting as associate editor of IAWA Journal and Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, and editing and coauthoring academic (text)books. This new flexible work/life balance has provided time to explore and develop my love of writing. I have ghostwritten a memoir (published by Bloomsbury), act as the editor responsible for the Shell Outpost-Aberdeen Newsletter, to follow a variety of Open University and TEFL courses, and enabling me to branch out into the world of translation and thereby help engage the general public in the scientific world.