Eileen Dight

Eileen Dight was born 1937 in London, England. Surviving the Blitz she went to grammar school and became a London secretary. Aged 20 in 1957 she bought a one way train ticket to Madrid without a word of Spanish and found work as an English secretary in a fashion house for American tourists. 16 months in Spain left her fluent in Spanish for life.

She married and had five sons. While they were in school she took a degree at the University of Wales in International Politics and History.

After working as fundraiser in a charity, and in marketing, now 50 and divorced she started her own business, Export Connect (featured in a BBC Business Matters documentary) to facilitate trading in Spain for British companies, which ran successfully for five years until she retired.

She remarried and in retirement with her second husband, renovated properties in rural south west France.

Alone again, with all her grandchildren emigrated, she moved to Virginia to be near one young family. Her twelve grandchildren live in Ireland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Australia.

For the past 18 years Eileen has published a monthly newsletter, Dight Times, to keep the family in touch.

Plate Spinner, her Memoir, was published in 2012, an account of her life, adventures,

triumphs, setbacks, sorrows and a celebration of living life to the full. Eileen is bipolar and open about it, saying "Many people are afraid to admit it, but it's a chemical imbalance like being diabetic, and no one should be ashamed." There are advantages, like insights gained and understanding of others' mood swings. She shares her experience of mental hospital and helpful solutions.

This Memoir, designed to let her grandchildren know her when they are grown up, and about the influence predecessors had on their lives, is full of humour and surprising adventures. People who read it comment on its uplifting stories and humour, provoking tears and smiles.