Brought up in the ’40s and ’50s on the south coast of England, where she attended a girls’ grammar school. Its highly academic approach meant that she was taught English the old-fashioned way, with an emphasis on grammar, spelling and essay-writing. Her interest has always been in languages, and in recent years she added an A* in GCSE Spanish to her O Levels in English, French and German (amongst other subjects!) At the age of 16, she spent nearly two years in Lausanne being taught in French, and then returned to the UK to obtain a secretarial diploma.

Nikky got married and had a family, and when her two girls were old enough, she went back to employment and worked for 20 years as a secretary and PA in educational establishments, including the University of Cambridge.

She currently spends many months of the year in Spain, living on a Swiss community, speaking not only Spanish, but also German on a day-to-day basis. Her education, work CV and language skills combine to offer often unrivalled skills as a proof-reader, editor, translator and language consultant.