NOT FINISHED

LIVING off the grid might seem scary to some but to Carole Smith it was all about the adventure, thrill and excitement which comes with it.

Carole has a background of working in Russia, Siberia, West Bank and Gaza, Czechoslovakia before the Velvet Revolution, Republic of China and in the UK and EU as well.

Besides work she has climbed in the Alps, which are located in central Europe and the Himalayas which are the world’s highest mountain range located in Asia. Carole has written a series of memoirs and novels.

She began her path as an English teacher in London which she pursued for seven years and really enjoyed it but found she didn’t like being in the same place every day. She was unhappy with the way that the education system at the time failed to support students who were neurodivergent, dyslexic or slow to learn and treated them as if they were badly behaved.

By chance her passion to go beyond came around and she was given the opportunity to go to Siberia after someone who she had known for a long time contacted her about it.

Carole began teaching people in Siberia how to be managers and due to meeting lots of different people she was invited back and forth for nine years.

She explained how she needed to be very careful out there (the region was closed to people from other countries and the rest of Russia) so when she was working in Yekaterinberg in Siberia she used to bring dollars and put them down her leather boots so if she was in difficulty, she would be able to find a way to leave.

In Gaza, Carole explained how much she liked the Palestinian people she worked with and she didn’t feel terribly nervous, although there were bombings, shortages of food, water and electricity. She was shown where the evacuation centre was, if things got difficult, she would go there and be helicoptered out. She was interrogated by Mossad (the Israeli Intelligence Agency) on her last visit to the country.

In Siberia, Carole originally went to train the doctors, and nurses and then reviewed the whole health care system. She realised that they weren’t used to having women visitors so the women she worked with were absolutely delighted.

Carole worked for a variety of management consultancy companies and the civil service. The company she initially worked for wasn’t a typical consultancy, their values and beliefs were to help an organisation, training them to be able to do the work themselves and so they didn’t need to keep paying external people to do it in the future.

In West Bank and Gaza the job was to bring the health organisations across the two areas together. This was impossible because the occupying militia would not permit travel.

In the Czech Republic she worked with a colleague who was studying the ways people can be creative. This concept was subsequently used in the UK. Carole was frequently invited to speak to conferences around the world.

“As a result of my travels I think I am more open to talking to people who have different values and customs. I enjoy this and learn from them."

“I think I am extremely fortunate to have seen so much and having a broader view of the world.”

As well as travelling to many countries, once she retired, she found her passion for writing novels. One of her memoirs is called ‘TravelWorks’ talking about all the places she has visited in her working life including her experiences.

Carole retired but she was bored after such an active career. Her husband suggested she could base her memoirs on the diaries she had kept while away; since then she has turned to writing fiction too.

Motivation and resilience are two qualities which Carole has developed along the way. She suggests that writing and climbing have their similarities and distinct differences.

With climbing and caving you must trust the people you are with whereas writing a book is a very solitary thing. Writing a book is in your head, climbing is physical - the difference is the mental and physical resilience.

“In spite of all the interesting, exciting and challenging locations, my favourite place is home, here in the Forest of Dean, said Carole.

Carole is continuing to inspire others, people in the community have spoken to her about her work and their enjoyment in reading the novels and memoirs she has written.

“I was talking to someone in the village yesterday who had recently read TravelWorks and he said he read it twice with the atlas out so he could see where I'd been. I think that's lovely.”

Her time overseas has clearly shaped her outlook. The people she met and the experiences she lived through continue to influence her work today.

“I’ve always enjoyed reading; this is partly because i’m an only child, so I used to entertain myself by reading and making up stories. Mum used to call me a bookwork.

“When I was growing up my local library was a refuge and safe place and the librarian was very kind. She allowed me to have three adult tickets so that I could borrow as many books as I wanted. now, reading is one of my preferred forms of relaxation.

“I don’t really know how long it takes for me to write a book. Sometimes the story just flows and even months then it can take months.

“Researching, editing and refining is quite time consuming and of course, it depends on what other projects I am working on. My first book was published in 2014 and I am currently writing my ninth book.”

Carole has shared her exciting adventures which are underway at the moment, she is currently completing her ninth book. This a ‘coming of age’ novel which is set in the Forest of Dean.