So, out I stepped, blinking in the sunlight...clutching my pristine Diploma in Celebrancy and swinging my large bag of enthusiasm.

The reality was only slightly more prosaic...emailed certificates are rather less visually exciting but no less hard-earned...but after a number of months of study, I did proudly find myself the proud owner of a qualification in Celebrancy.

So what next?

The study was the comparatively easy part...ahead lies the toe-curlingly challenging task of selling myself to potential clients. As a lifelong public servant, used to doing a standard day's work for a formally agreed salary, the notion of marketing myself fills me with abject horror.

Off I go on the new adventure as a Civil Celebrant, crafting and leading Funerals, Weddings, and Naming Ceremonies. Dropping in the word 'bespoke' at every possible opportunity...

Watch this space...it's a Celebrant thing!

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