Liz Preston
Liz was born in Manicaland, Zimbabwe and spent her early days living an idyllic farm lifestyle on a small plot on the outskirts of Mutare. A ‘day in the life’ consisted of feeding the calves (Dingaan and Shaka -named after Zulu Kings), swimming in the duck pond and ‘driving’ a very stationary broken-down tractor. Evenings were spent pretending to be a well-known Zimbabwean broadcaster and reading The Herald newspaper out loud at the kitchen table, with her older cousin, Sally, who often doubled up as ‘Pamela from Dallas’.
Liz attended Chancellor Junior School and then spent a term at Kariba Heights Primary school, where her uncle taught, and where seeing an elephant or six on the short walk to school was not uncommon. Senior schooling took place at a boarding school just across the border in South Africa, where the vast majority of scholars were from Zimbabwe. Liz later completed an Executive Secretarial Diploma at Speciss College and began her career working in Harare as the Receptionist and then PA to the Managing Director for an international construction company.
Skipping ahead to the year 2000, Liz and her family emigrated to the UK where she began pursuing a career in law, initially starting as a Solicitor Liaison Assistant for an accident management company in Norfolk and then later completing a Paralegal qualification and working as a Trainee Lawyer for a Legal 500 company in Kent.
In 2016, on a long overdue visit to her sister in Zimbabwe, a number of events took place which would shape the future for Liz and her two sons. She saw how different life could be for her and her children and she saw how happy her youngest son was while doing the things that she too had so enjoyed as a child. Liz had sorely missed the openly friendly nature of Zimbabweans, fresh air and sunshine (need we say more?!) the bush, the animals, the delicious fresh naturally organic fruit and vegetables – the juicy steaks … the laid-back lifestyle … the whole trip was incredible.....this was real life.....this was quality time spent with family. Added to this was a good old love story, a man she knew from days gone by had crashed into her quiet little world and swept her off her feet! The story had to continue, and so, in early March 2017, Liz and her youngest son returned to “The Sunshine City of Harare” and her oldest son will be joining them in August 2019, as he too longs to return home and play his part in rebuilding this great nation of Zimbabwe.
When not helping shape W4L Liz is Ed Holme’s PA and when not doing either of those, she enjoys being outdoors - especially camping, with Hippo Pools and Nyanga being two of her favourite places. The therapeutic value of nature is something she particularly endorses. Liz has taken part in a number of endurance events for charity – a 75-mile London to Brighton off-road bike ride to raise money for the British Heart Foundation, a trek through the Grand Canyon in support of the Alzheimer Society, a Wings for Life race in support of the Spinal Cord Injury Foundation and a number of OCR events, including two Dirty Rotten Scramble events and together with her youngest son, a Bear Grylls Survival Race.
Liz attended Chancellor Junior School and then spent a term at Kariba Heights Primary school, where her uncle taught, and where seeing an elephant or six on the short walk to school was not uncommon. Senior schooling took place at a boarding school just across the border in South Africa, where the vast majority of scholars were from Zimbabwe. Liz later completed an Executive Secretarial Diploma at Speciss College and began her career working in Harare as the Receptionist and then PA to the Managing Director for an international construction company.
Skipping ahead to the year 2000, Liz and her family emigrated to the UK where she began pursuing a career in law, initially starting as a Solicitor Liaison Assistant for an accident management company in Norfolk and then later completing a Paralegal qualification and working as a Trainee Lawyer for a Legal 500 company in Kent.
In 2016, on a long overdue visit to her sister in Zimbabwe, a number of events took place which would shape the future for Liz and her two sons. She saw how different life could be for her and her children and she saw how happy her youngest son was while doing the things that she too had so enjoyed as a child. Liz had sorely missed the openly friendly nature of Zimbabweans, fresh air and sunshine (need we say more?!) the bush, the animals, the delicious fresh naturally organic fruit and vegetables – the juicy steaks … the laid-back lifestyle … the whole trip was incredible.....this was real life.....this was quality time spent with family. Added to this was a good old love story, a man she knew from days gone by had crashed into her quiet little world and swept her off her feet! The story had to continue, and so, in early March 2017, Liz and her youngest son returned to “The Sunshine City of Harare” and her oldest son will be joining them in August 2019, as he too longs to return home and play his part in rebuilding this great nation of Zimbabwe.
When not helping shape W4L Liz is Ed Holme’s PA and when not doing either of those, she enjoys being outdoors - especially camping, with Hippo Pools and Nyanga being two of her favourite places. The therapeutic value of nature is something she particularly endorses. Liz has taken part in a number of endurance events for charity – a 75-mile London to Brighton off-road bike ride to raise money for the British Heart Foundation, a trek through the Grand Canyon in support of the Alzheimer Society, a Wings for Life race in support of the Spinal Cord Injury Foundation and a number of OCR events, including two Dirty Rotten Scramble events and together with her youngest son, a Bear Grylls Survival Race.