Nursery World - Worlds apart

A nanny whose experiences reflect the variety of the job today tells Christina Papas about two of her positions Families come in all shapes and sizes. That's what makes working as a nanny seem like such an individual experience for each person - and there is no-one more familiar with this concept than professional nanny Theresa Manley. She has been lucky enough to have worked for two close-knit families who, in terms of their backgrounds and lifestyles, are worlds apart.

Families come in all shapes and sizes. That's what makes working as a nanny seem like such an individual experience for each person - and there is no-one more familiar with this concept than professional nanny Theresa Manley. She has been lucky enough to have worked for two close-knit families who, in terms of their backgrounds and lifestyles, are worlds apart.

Back in 1986 Theresa, an NNEB, secured a job by word of mouth with Lord and Lady Hesketh as a full-time nanny to their two young girls at Easton Neston, the Hesketh's magnificent parkland estate near Towcester, Northamptonshire. Easton Neston has been in the news in the past month since Lord Hesketh took the unusual step of putting his stately home for sale on the open market at 50m. It sits on 9,000 acres of land and is, according to Theresa, 'the perfect place to bring up children'. As grand as it all may seem, however, Theresa says the Heskeths proved themselves to be a down-to-earth family.

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