Surrey Life Editor's Blog

Atishoo...

Having gone three years without getting a cold, I have suddenly been smitten rather spectacularly. I suppose it serves me right really for smugly accusing all my fellow colleagues of having 'man flu' over the last few winters...

Anyway, the result is that my head feels like it's full of cotton wool, and the rest of me feels like I have just done three rounds with the world champion kickboxer we will soon be featuring in our series of Bright Young Things.

Still, I've never been a believer in giving into colds. Better to plough on through I reckon - at least it takes your mind off it - and it's also the perfect excuse to collapse in the evening with one of those hot toddy things. Might look into that tonight.

Back on work stuff, I have been promising you a resolution to the gold debate for some time, so here it is... metallic spot! Now I am still getting to grips with precisely what this is, but our designers assure me it looks gorgeous, is far more tasteful than gold and is also a lot cheaper. So there we are...  

Jewish Internet dating (yes, really)

Manically busy here today but couldn't resist sharing the following with you...

Have just received a press release all about, wait for it, a new book called 'The Essential Guide to Jewish Internet Dating’.

Now informative as this esteemed publication may well be, I suspect it will appeal to a fairly niche market - hence why they must be sending the details to every newspaper and magazine in the country (unless, perhaps, we have a particularly high number of Jewish Internet daters here in Surrey..??).

Anyway, made me smile on an otherwise hectic, marginally stressful day.

In other news, we agreed on a compromise over the on-going gold cover debate, but I'll have to share the details of that one with you later as must get back to the chaos for now.  

Let there be light

Well, the gold debate is still rumbling on - hence why I haven't been able to update you as yet.

However, we have our planning & review meeting down in Worthing this afternoon, so no doubt we will resolve it then. I'm expecting a fairly lively discussion as everyone seems to have pretty strong views on the subject so I'll let you know how it goes.

Meanwhile, we have the electricians here this morning replacing all our light bulbs. Now before anyone starts making wisecracks about how many journalists it takes to change a lightbulb, let me explain that we work in an office with a ceiling that is some 30ft high in places.

It really is the most extraordinary place, and the only way I can describe it is like an upside down ship - if that makes any sense at all - with the enormous wooden hull full of spotlights.

I can never quite make my mind up whether the whole thing looks terribly kitch and dated - circa 1970s - or whether it's actually the epitome of office cool in a retro kind of way. Either way, I've grown very attached to this quirky old place (and especially the enormous oblong, wooden clock on the wall - definitely original 1970s - which even has one of those date things that you update manually).

Actually, the best way to show you would be to take a photograph, but not sure if this blog is technologically advanced enough to accept pictures - I will investigate and get back to you....  

Going for gold

There's a huge and, frankly, rather heated debate going on this afternoon concerning whether we go for gold on our Christmas cover.

In a nutshell, it's expensive, time consuming and means sending the covers to the printers two weeks early - but, it also looks absolutely beautiful.

Here in our office, we think last December's cover (which was red and gold) looked amazing, and we want to do something similar this year but in green and gold.

It's hard to describe unless you are actually looking at a cover, but it really does look gorgeous when the Surrey Life masthead and straps are gleaming out at you. 

However, there is mutiny in the ranks... Our production guys down in Worthing have suddenly gone massively anti-gold for reasons I know not of. They simply say they don't like it any more and it's a waste of money.

Naturally, I will explore the whole gold/anti-gold debate with them in more detail tomorrow, but in the meantime, I'd like to hear everyone else's thoughts.

Did you see our last Christmas cover? Were you one of the many people who rang in to say how much you liked it? Let me know your thoughts (and hopefully I can strengthen our case!!).

I'll let you you know what happens tomorrow.

Bob's yer uncle

Our main interview for December is with the legendary Bobby Davro, and having just been through the copy, I can confirm that it's a cracking read.

Getting interesting answers out of celebrities is a real art, as more often than not, they'll churn out the same anodyne soundbites in every interview they do.

In this case, though, journalist Alan Tovey has done a first class job of eliciting some really good stuff - how Bobby was left heartbroken when he and his wife split, how his career hit rock bottom etc, etc.

Fortunately, of course, Bobby's story has a happy ending, which always helps smooth things along during an interview.

Now gracing our screens in EastEnders, and looking forward to appearing in the Wimbledon panto, the Weybridge resident is well and truly in demand again.

As I say, it's a really strong interview, and coupled with the fact that we have some marvellous pictures of Bobby with Pat Butcher in the Queen Vic, I think it's going to make a great piece.   

Oh Come all Ye Faithful

Enter the Surrey Life office today and you could be forgiven for thinking that Christmas had arrived.

Walk through the main door and you'll see a beautiful little tree, bedecked with fairylights and golden bows, and every so often members of the team burst into song with their favourite carol (or even Dominic the Donkey if you're very lucky). We've also been eating mince pies.

Contrary to appearances, we haven't gone completely mad. It's just that now we've started working on our December edition in earnest, it's vital that we all start feeling festive.

It makes it far easier to write about ice skating, pantos and winter glamour if you're feeling at least a little bit Christmassy, and the same goes for the sales guys too.

Now we just need the mulled wine, so roll on the weekend - oh, and a very merry Christmas to you all!

A momentous day

I have just managed to clear my emails to the point that there is still a bit of white space at the bottom of the list when I open my inbox.

This is, indeed, a major achievement in my world; on a par with winning the Nobel Prize for services to journalism or possibly getting an interview with the Queen.

If I tell you that this is the first time I have managed to achieve this feat since July, you'll start to understand what I mean.

Ring any bells with anyone else? 

The thing is, you see, whilst I'm sure email has been a very important technological leap forward for the human race, for me personally, and for thousands of others I'm sure, it is frankly the bane of my life.

It's like an unruly child that demands your undivided attention at all times. Turn your eye away for a second, to try and edit a feature, or heaven forbid go to a meeting, and all hell breaks loose.

Before you know it, you're faced with 40 unread emails, which could be anything from total rubbish (i.e. a press release about a new kind of garden fork with no relevance at all to Surrey) or something rather more pressing (i.e. regional director requiring urgent report by the following morning).

Then, even as you're ploughing through them, more are arriving...

In fact, what do you know, another three have just popped up.

Please excuse me while I return to my inbox before that treasured slither of white space disappears, never to be seen again...

X marks the spot

Apologies for the lack of entries over the last few days. We went to press yesterday so it's been pretty much non-stop since the end of last Thursday (weekends don't really exist during deadline week...).

Because we are a monthly magazine, the production cycle can be anything from four weeks to five, and this was a four-week run - hence, the complete mayhem trying to get everything wrapped up.

Things were not helped either by a rather unexpected turn of events on Friday.

It all started when I was chatting on the phone to our top columnist, Max Clifford, just finalising the last details of this month's missive (he has a much later deadline than everyone else so we can ensure his column is as up-to-date as possible).

Anyway, we had just got everything firmed up and were about to say our goodbyes when he casually enquired whether I might like a pair of VIP tickets to the final of The X Factor to give away.

Furthermore, the lucky recipients of these tickets would go as his special guests, enjoy the best seats in the house and, oh yes, be introduced to Simon Cowell.

WHAT ??%!*&??!!*!!**!?!! 

Cue complete pandemonium as we binned a whole page to make way for this amazing competition and began work on completely re-doing the covers - and all the while trying to get some 200 other pages signed off and away to the printers.

Honestly, I tell you something, you need nerves of steel to do this job; I'm going to be having nightmares about X Factor logos for weeks.

Anyway, the upshot of the whole thing is that we really do have a brilliant issue for you this month.

As well as our fantastic X Factor competition, we also have a lovely interview with actress Penelope Keith who talks all about her favourite places in the county, a great feature on the new glasshouse at Wisley and a handy round-up of all the best firework displays across the county.

Oh, and then there's our interview with the Bookham based managing director of the world's biggest private jet company, who provides a fascinating behind-the-scenes glimpse into a whole other world.

The magazine will be in the shops from next Tuesday (October 23) and you'll be able to spot it a mile off from the big X Factor logo on the top strap. I suppose it's a case, actually, of X marks the spot...

Hallelujah!

Praise be to God and all his angels! We have finally managed to firm up the date of the carol concert!

After extensive liaisons with all parties concerned, I can now confirm that our grand event will take place at St James Church, Shere, on Wednesday December 5 - hoorah!

All proceeds will be going to the CHASE children's hospice, near Guildford, so hope to see you there! Just check out the next mag for details on how to get tickets etc.  

In other news, four of us went along last night to a charity fashion show at Denbies Wine Estate in Dorking. Hosted by Bakehouse in Dorking, it was a lovely evening with all proceeds going to breast cancer care.

I think every single one of us fell in love with the black Nicole Farhi dress (well, with the exception of photographer Alec that is who I suspect was more interested in the models than the clothes...) but, alas, even with the 15% discount vouchers we all found in our goodie bags, the other 85% is likely to prove a bit of a problem... 

Right, enough rambling... It's deadline week and there's a mountain of proofing on my desk so better get back to the mayhem.      

Divine intervention

Seem to have spent most of the last few days trying to get hold of Father Charles at St James Church, Shere, in the desperate hope that we can reschedule the date of the carol concert (see previous entry).

At one point, when I rang his number for the 58th time, I thought I'd finally got lucky:

Man on phone: "Hello."

Me (sounding desperate): "Father Charles? Is that you? Oh, thank goodness..."

Man on phone: "I'm so sorry, dear, you've got the wrong number."

Me (horrified at having just addressed a random stranger as Father Charles and probably sounding mildly hysterical): "Oh dear, I'm so sorry to have troubled you...I do apologise... terribly sorry..."

Man on phone (clearly assuming I was on brink of suicide and trying to contact Father Charles for spiritual guidance): "Now don't you worry at all, dear, I was only in the kitchen.. It was absolutely no trouble at all to come to the phone. Now best of luck getting hold of father Charles - and you take care..."

I tell you something - if I don't manage to get hold of Father Charles soon I will be on suicide watch...

Crossed wires

Phew - well, that was a bit hair-raising...

Got a call this afternoon from our star columnist, Max Clifford, who is also the special guest at our forthcoming carol concert in Shere on Monday December 3, to say that, er, in a nutshell he couldn't make that date - eek!

Cue lots of general panic as we tried to catch the posters and flyers before they went to the printers, and frantically get hold of everyone from the church to The Lucky Duck, where we are hosting the VIP reception afterwards, to see if we could reschedule.

At the time of writing, we have managed to speak to all parties with the exception of the church, but fingers crossed they should be able to accomodate us later in the week.

I'll let you know as soon as we have a new date.

Now I know why editors reportedly smoke and drink so much... thank goodness it's Friday...

Cover story

Our production co-ordinator Helen Hughes is back today after going through the horrible ordeal of having her tonsils out.

So, welcome back Helen and really glad you are feeling better.

In other news, just seen the latest draft of our covers, and they look absolutely beautiful.

We've going for a really different style this month - quite contemporary even - and I'm getting goosebumps just looking at them.

They'll be going to all the other people on the 'covers committee' tomorrow, so fingers crossed everyone else likes them too. 

Window shopping

Just got back to the office after popping along to the launch of new designer boutique Courtyard in Reigate (just opposite The Cage wine bar).

It was a lovely party, all very stylish, with probably the best canapes I have ever tasted. The problem is, I also fell in love with half the clothes in the shop, and by the time I left, had mentally spent about £25,000.

I did especially like a gorgeous pair of boots in the window, which my colleagues Rhiannon and Sarah assured me were an absolute bargain. After all, they pointed out, you wear boots all the time. It's not like buying a sparkly party dress, which you might just wear a couple of times, boots are so versatile you can wear them with anything.   

Plus, if you were to divide the price by the number of times you wore them, it would equate to a matter of pennies.   

Come to think of it, it would be false economy not to buy them really, wouldn't it? 

Rain rain go away

Hey ho, another cloudy autumn day, so still no Redhill photoshoot. At this rate. we're going to have to beam a spotlight down from the top of the Belfry shopping centre and hope for the best.

We still need to shoot West Byfleet yet as well - gulp.

Oh well, just checked the BBC five day forecast and it's predicting sun for the weekend, so we can but hope.   

Elsewhere, just been reading a cracking feature on Godalming and all the famous people who have lived in and around the town over the years. Suffice to say, it makes for a fascinating read. Look out for that one in the November issue...

Not much else to report today really - which is all good as it means I can actually try and get on with some work. 

Another manic Monday...

Oh great - it's raining again meaning that we will have to postpone our photo shoot of Redhill for about the fourth time.

Meanwhile, the servers have only just come back up again, with the result that we are also behind schedule on the next issue of the mag.

Still, at least the October issue seems to be going down well. We had a lovely call this morning from a lady called Mrs Millner of Kingston who rang simply to say how much she enjoyed our review of the Toby Cottage in Ripley.

Apparently, she is a regular customer at the restaurant and always takes her American relatives there when they are over from the States, so she was delighted to learn that our critic loved it too.

It's always a joy to get good feedback from readers - especially when we normally only here from the ones who are upset about something - either we couldn't fit in their social event or we had to reduce their feature from 3xpages to 2xpages etc, etc...

So, thank you Mrs Millner for brightening up what would otherwise have been a very gloomy Monday monday morning.