Losing our jobs made us happier

By Peter Jackson BBC News

Redundancy is always a huge blow when it is forced upon unsuspecting workers. But as thousands face the prospect of being laid off in the recession, some of those who have been through it say it was a blessing in disguise.

Here, four people explain how losing their jobs allowed them to follow their passions and turn their lives around.

FROM INSURANCE BROKER TO CASTLE GARDENER

As head gardener at Hever castle in Kent, Neil Miller's obsessions are the straight lines and attention to detail behind his immaculate Italian and rose gardens.

The 43-year-old says he loves his job, which is an extension of his hobby, and that if you get stressed in this "fairy tale setting" there must be something wrong with you.

I didn't hate insurance, it was a job, but now I understand how people can love their job Neil Miller(Pictured in his insurance days)

He owes it all to the life-changing experience in 1993 when he was made redundant from his job as an insurance broker for Lloyd's of London after 11 years.

"So many times I say if I'd not been made redundant, I would not be here... the change from the stress is the best medicine," he says. "Initially I thought 'my god, what am I going to do'... it's that gut feeling, the instant shock as if your heart misses a beat."

But he says it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it allowed him to discover his true passion.

"I didn't hate insurance, it was a job, but now I can understand how people can love their job. I love just being there with your hands in the soil, noticing the change in the season. Not one day do I think I've had an awful day."

Mr Miller, from Croydon in Surrey, took time out after losing his job and started helping his family and their neighbours with their gardens.

Mr Miller is head gardener at Hever Castle, childhood home of Anne Boleyn

His hobby developed and he launched his own gardening business before eventually joining the team at Hever seven years ago.

"Because you own the business, you never turn down work and I was working 13-hour days with not enough time to do what I wanted to do," he says.

In 2002 he became a basic gardener at Hever castle, earning