Secret life of a private eye: The glitz, the glamour, the unconventional use of coffee cups...

Fifteen years ago, I had an epiphany. I'd hit 30, three decades that culminated in my being a teacher and a single mum, living in Bexleyheath, south-east London. Yes, I had the school holidays, but call me flighty, I wanted more. If I could do anything, anything, what would it be? And let's face it, it had to be something outré, otherwise I'd be wearing that single-mum tabard for the rest of my life.