Meet Jin, who is not only a carer in our team but who is also one of our qualified specialists in holistic therapy and massage. Jin can do wonders in making people feel better – in both body and in spirit.
Having grown up in the Czech Republic (then Czechoslovakia), as the single child of two dentist parents, Jin first came to the UK in her late teens. She worked as an Au Pair in London for about a year, learning all about English language and culture on the go.
She came back again for a holiday when she was 21, and this time she was to stay – she met her husband, moved to the UK, got married, and had a daughter.
Jin, “My husband lived and worked on an organic fruit farm and I joined the business, doing the bookkeeping and helping run the business. After my husband very sadly passed away, I stayed with the business for a while longer – I very much support the idea of growing organic fruit and it was a pleasure to support the company.”
She decided to develop different skills, and she completed a course in Holistic Therapies at Herefordshire and Ludlow College, working as a mobile therapist – specialising in different types of treatment like reflexology, Swedish body massage and Indian Head Massage.
In addition, she also worked for a little company called ‘Herbfarmacy’, who create their own organic skincare products – straight from the fields. Jin, “They grow their own herbs, which they turn into creams and oils and so on. They had a little kitchen with some mixing machines, and oh my word the smells were just wonderful, so lovely!
We would mix different herbs and turn them into the most wonderful creams. It is amazing to think what you can make yourself with the right ingredients. And of course we tried all of it, scraping the leftovers from the bottom of the mixers! It was a most wonderful place to work.”
“When I am not working, I spend a lot of time with our dog Riley, who is Pomeranian by breed - and she is a girl! Me being foreign, I didn't realise that Riley here and mainly in Ireland is a boy’s name. I absolutely love her and spend a lot of time with her. She's usually my main photo model.”
Because that is another one of Jin’s hobbies: photography. “I love taking photos of the sky, clouds, and nature. We have had some magnificent sunsets over the last year. The photo of the sunset is from Santorini in Greece, which I visited in April. It was one of the most beautiful sunsets I've seen. “
“I love traveling, I love seeing new parts of the world and meeting new people. I have been on a very memorable trip to South Africa. In Cape Town, I met a girl called Samantha who was HiV Positive. That meeting has made a big impression on me, it has made me feel very grateful for just meeting her. On the trip I also had the opportunity to stroke and pat a 12 month old lioness cub that was bubbling on my thumb. I felt amazingly happy to have the little queen of the jungle on my lap.”
