Gillian B.
London, England, United Kingdom
About Gillian B.
50 years old
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Archivist
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Alone
Originally from Scotland, I'm a professional Archivist now based in London. A good Archivist (which I like to think I am!) is responsible, organised, contemplative, resourceful and empathetic. Qualities which also make a good housesitter, I reckon. I work part-time for a human rights organisation, and pet-sit in parallel. It's been working out wonderfully - most of my work is digital so I often work from home, giving me a lot more time for pet pampering.
I love animals but I haven't been in a position to 'have' a pet myself, due to a life filled with travel (15 years or so in India, Japan, South Korea, China, Australia). On returning to the UK a few years ago, I got serious about my Archive career and it took off quickly.
I started pet-sitting as a way to make a short-term contract in London financially viable, with no expectation of continuing beyond that. But it complemented my working life surprisingly well and I had such a positive experience in a lovely living environment with new pet friends that I accepted another sit and... one sit would lead to another and I've now been pet-sitting almost continuously since early 2019. I have 30+ 5-Star reviews on another site, but recently joined Nomador so that I can pet-sit in Europe on breaks from work, an amazing way to get to know a new city while staying with animal friends in a homely environment.
I'm an animal loving, vegetarian non-smoker. I enjoy urban walking and exploring cities, particularly architecture, museums and contemporary art. At heart, I'm a low maintenance gal who enjoys a quiet night in with pet snuggles. I also have a recent enhanced DBS certificate (a UK security check issued by the government) and am fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Language(s) spoken
English
Compliments received
Community opinion
Paris, France - October 2024
My experience with Gillian was very agreeable even though, owing to health problems that arose shortly before my planned trip, I was obliged to cancel the sit. Gillian found time to meet with me when we happened to be in the same place a few weeks before my planned trip, She was very understanding when she saw that, through a misunderstanding, an earlier sitter had given me a low rating. And she was so accommodating when the sit had to be called off at short notice. I really hope that, in the future, our schedules will work out so that she can look after my cats!