Granting permission

I’m no good at grants.

My first rejection came at university. I had applied for funding to top up a dwindling student loan. Several fellow students had been successful – even some who had attended private schools, owned laptops and spent holidays in their parents’ second homes.

I was different. I grew up in a low-income, single-parent family, earning my own money from the age of 14 by working in supermarkets and pubs. I inherited a fierce work ethic from my mum,