Thursday 23rd September

I can’t get through my head that as of Saturday, I will no longer just be a slightly confused single mum but will, in addition, be a slightly confused journalism student.

A bit of background is probably, at this point, in order.

I have always enjoyed writing but due to the fact that I found myself at 24 married, with a bad case of being proper knocked up, decided that the needs of my child and husband should be put ahead of my own and so threw myself half heartedly into life as a full time working mum.

 Just when I thought I could see the light at the end of the tunnel in terms of getting a lie in or getting ten minutes to do my bikini line, said tunnel was closed for the foreseeable in the wake of Annabelle’s arrival.

A mere 18 months later Andy decided that maybe the second kid wasn’t such a great idea after all and decamped to the V Festival to ‘re-discover himself’. I couldn’t swear to his precise whereabouts that summer but I do recall that whenever we were having one of our telephonic ‘discussions’ about who was going to get the plasma screen, Coldplay were singing live and unplugged in the background. A few years later he proudly showed me a clip frame full of the various festival tickets he had collected that year, well, you can only imagine my delight.

Anyway, long story short; after a bumpy start, the kids and I not only survived, we flourished.

My (at the time) seemingly grandiose resolution for 2010 was to revisit my original literary career goal as a journalist and so, with little hope of success, I began the application process.

In April I was, I am chuffed to say, offered a place at noSWeat Journalism Training in London and around that time heard about an organisation called the Journalism Diversity Fund which was established by the industry to encourage those of a socially or ethnically diverse background to enter the profession. The fund makes provision for course fees to allow those who, because of their financial or social circumstances, would not normally be able to be a voice for Britain’s increasingly cosmopolitan and diverse culture.

After an interview at the Financial Times in June of this year, I was delighted to discover that I had been lucky enough to be awarded one of the bursaries and with that, my goals moved firmly into my grasp.

The voyage begins on Saturday this week. I don’t really know what to expect but I do know that the course centre are taking us to the Houses of Parliament and the Old Bailey in the first few weeks in addition to work experience placements being organised for the duration of our study.

Journalism; it’s never too late (even if you are a disorganised single mum!).