Belinda Briggs was born in the midlands and educated in Lincolnshire. Having studied drama for two years, she decided that it was not for her and opted to become a nurse, training in London before travelling to Ethiopia to work for VSO. On return to England via Switzerland, she did night duty in a neurosurgical unit, trained as a Health Visitor and gained a degree in Sociology from the University of Durham. Subsequently, she worked in nurse education. She now lives in Devon with her husband, who