VPaterson

Last updated 00:00, Friday, 30 November 2007

Maryport florist Jill Skinner tells VIVIENNE PATERSON how she confronted the dyslexia that had always held her back to become a business success in her 40s...

JILL SKINNER was labelled “dim” at school but the Maryport florist has had the last laugh.

Jill, who runs the Lily Basket, in Senhouse Street, did what everyone thought was impossible when she was in her 40’s.

She not only went to college and got qualifications as a florist but she also won a certificate for outstanding achievement.

Not a bad outcome for a girl who left school at 15 because nobody thought there was any point in her carrying on.

Jill was brought up being told she was thick. She never really believed it and never thought she deserved to be always in the bottom class at school.

It was not until years later, when she heard actress Susan Hampshire talk about being dyslexic, that she started to recognise the symptoms in her own life.

“She was talking about how hard it was for her to read - how she muddled up her b’s and d’s and her n’s and m’s. It was exactly like me,” says Jill.

“I used to love reading as a child even though I often could not make sense of it.

“If I came across a word I didn’t understand I would read forward to get the meaning and then come back to it.”

Wasn’t that quite clever thinking?

She says: “Dyslexic people can be clever. Their brain jumbles letters but they are bright.”

She left school at 15 and worked in a florist and greengrocers.

She says: “The plan was that I would be trained as a florist but the girl I was to replace decided not to leave so I got fed up. I left and worked for a greengrocer for a number of years.”

Jill, who lives in Fletchertown, near Aspatria, says that her vicar’s wife told her one day that she was going to do a florist course at Carlisle University.

“I thought about how much I would love to do that. I’ve always wanted to be a florist,” she says.

“I knew a bit about flowers. I thought I could help her with the practical stuff and she could perhaps help me with the book work.”

The vicar’s wife pulled out, however, and Jill was left on her own.

She adds: “They were marvellous at college. They did a test and confirmed I was dyslexic. I got a lot of extra tuition - help with my English etc. But they didn’t help me with my course work. I did that all by myself.”

Jill says that knowing she has dyslexia doesn’t solve her problem.

“It is still a battle,” she admits. “I have my own version of shorthand now and my staff write all the cards for me.

“I have good days when I could perhaps do it myself but on my bad days it is difficult.”

But she says that knowing what is wrong does help her to cope and she finds ways around problems.

“I have also discovered that it runs in families. My brother is slightly dyslexic and so is my son.

“My brother is a successful teacher and my son’s personality is going to get him through,.”

Jill has been in business in Maryport for seven years and is still proud of what she has achieved.

She adds: “Because my husband is ill, I would like to sell the business now to spend time with him.

“But it has been a lot of fun running my own shop - and I am very proud of my certificate of achievement.”