When the author and her partner were offered the chance of spending five months teaching English in a remote village high in the Himalayas of Nepal they grabbed the life changing opportunity. 'A Beard In Nepal' is the story of the time they spent living in the small, isolated village of Salle, which is almost untouched by Western civilisation, and in manic, crowded, noisy Kathmandu. A compulsive read, often humorous, we follow the couple from Liverpool as they struggle with the daily challenges of altitude sickness, severely restricted diet, and close encounters with wild tigers.The book describes their often comic attempts to teach English to a group of lively youngsters in a wooden hut in a forest, using blackboard and chalk, and without the benefit of electricity, water or toilet! 'A Beard In Nepal 2 - Return to the Village' the second book in the series, has also been published, and is available as a paperback or eBook. Both of the 'Beard In Nepal' books are Amazon bestsellers.

'A Beard In Nepal 2. Return to the Village' is the story of Fiona and Tod's second visit to the village of Salle, high in the Himalayas of Nepal. They returned to take presents and supplies to the villagers. The book is again full of humour as the couple from Liverpool trek with Kalyani (the village school headmistress) to a remote, hidden valley where her new husband's family live, braving again those incredibly high, dangerous roads through the mountains. This book gives us more detail about the villagers lives, and the lives of the wonderful, happy village children, who live so very differently from their Western counterparts. It also touches on the downside of life in Nepal today; the corruption, the destruction of the forests, lack of electricity, and lack of clean water. 'A Beard In Nepal 2' tells us about Fiona and Tod's encounter with black, poisonous spiders; how they avoided having to eat a cockerel; a water buffalo that snores so loudly it has to sleep in its own specially built shelter; and once again the nightmare of travelling in a local bus through the remote tracks in the high Himalayas. The book also looks at developments in Kathmandu, such as the 'removal' of 10,000 street dogs in the last few months.