Surrey Life Editor's Blog

Red faces

There's a fair few red faces at Surrey Life today.

Thankfully, it's not because of any howling errors in the magazine, but because at least three of the team got very burnt over the weekend.

Sales guru Ade Holder has gone from pale and interesting rock star (in another life, he was the lead singer with well-known punk band Phineas Gage) to, erm, very red rock star...

Meanwhile, on the editorial team, Matt Williams and Donna James, are also nursing various burnt bits too, and seem to wince every time they move.

Having spent yesterday afternoon indoors catching up on my e-mails, I can't help feeling rather smug today - it seems there are at least some advantages to weekend working.      

Normal blogging resumed

Sorry to have been a bit rubbish on the blogging front over the last few days... What with being away on holiday and then a full day of meetings down at HQ today, it's been pretty much non stop.

I've been trying to think whether there's anything very interesting to tell you, but there honestly isn't much to report, other than that the 'powers that be' really liked the new mag - always a relief.

Oh, that and the fact that, rather excitingly, we seem to have a new British tennis star in our midst, in the form of Chris Eaton, who lives in East Horsley near Guildford.

Incredibly, the 20-year-old beat a player ranked nearly 550 places above him in the first round at Wimbledon. Okay, so he may have lost out in the second round to Dimitry Tursunov, but he should be dead proud of himself all the same.  

It turns out that during his teenage years, he and Tim Henman were fellow students at Reed's School in Cobham - and as we have a rather good contact there, we are hoping we may be able to scoop the national media and get the first 'at home in Surrey' style interview!

We'll see - no guarantees but I'll keep you posted on how it pans out.

In the meantime, normal blogging servies will be resumed next week.

Back to the mayhem

Back from holiday today feeling relaxed and re-energised after a few blissful days off.

Don't suppose it will last long - by lunchtime I will probably be biting everyone's heads off like usual - but for this morning at least I'm going to try and be nice.

The day got off to a good start when I returned to find the brand-new magazine on my desk, which looks fantastic. After all that to-ing and fro-ing, I think the lavender cover looks great.

I must say, it's a cracking issue all round actually.

Among the highlights are...

1) Yes, you guessed it, a feature on Surrey's thriving lavender farms - our very own little piece of Provence.

2) An interview with the lovely newsreader Nicholas Owen in which he talks about his love of Reigate and reveals that he also has an allotment in Brockham.

3) Possibly most important of all, our '12 of the best... summer pub lunches' - essential reading for anyone who enjoys soaking up the sunshine in a beer garden.

4) A fascinating interview with LTA chief Roger Draper on our hopes for a Wimbledon champion.

5) A must-read feature on the best charity shops in the county and where to bag yourself some lovely vintage bargains.   

Now if all that isn't enough to entice you, I don't know what is!

Right, better crack on. Having been off since last Thursday, there's an awful lot of catching up to do...    

E-mail etiquette

Today will be my last day in the office until the middle of next week as I'm taking a few days holiday.

Consequently, I'm in the middle of a frantic dash to try and get everything wrapped up before I go.

I'm also on a mission to try and clear my inbox - no mean feat considering I receive up to 200 e-mails a day (I got it down to seven a few minutes ago but it's already shot up to 13 again - aaargh).

We were talking this morning actually about how many e-mails one should attempt to reply to.

Most of the ones I receive tend to be press releases - many of which have absolutely no relevance to Surrey Life at all (among the gems I've received today are e-mails entitled 'Lower gas and electricity bills', 'Best of Gucci, Boss & Versace' and, inexplicably, ' 'Hey Big Blender').  

With these, I'm afraid, it's a simple case of hitting the delete button. But what to do if the e-mail does have some sort of relevance?

Readers are always guaranteed a personal response - naturally they're more important than anyone - but the dilemma comes when it's a press release about something that is Surrey related but I know full well we won't use. eg. 'What are you up to today? Pop down to The Leatherhead Theatre!'.

Being a fairly polite sort of person, I always think that if somebody has bothered to find out my name, then it's nice to send them at least a one-liner, especially if they've shown some evidence of having read the magazine.  

But, on the other hand, when we get literally hundreds every week, it is enormously time consuming... would it be wrong to send them straight to the trash bin as well?  

Perhaps someone should write a book about it - 'The Simple Guide to Email Etiquette'.

Anyway, in all the time I've spent rambling on about this, another four have popped up in my inbox, so without further ado, it's back to the email blitz.  

A forgotten hero

It suddenly occurred to me that when I was talking about the website earlier (see previous entry), I should probably have paid tribute to the secret hero behind it all.

I'm referring to my deputy, Matthew Williams, who frankly works miracles in putting this website together. 

I'm the first one to admit that I'm a bit of an idiot when it comes to technical matters. I mean, sure, I've learnt how to do this blog (and that took long enough) but that's about as far it goes.

He, on the other hand, can miraculously make all sorts of things appear - from webcams and photos to the weather.

I'm not very good at acknowledging all the amazing work he does on the website (much of which he does in his own time) tending to blithely assume that things just pop up here by magic.

Anyway, Matt, a long overdue thank you for being the Surrey Life web guru, because goodness only knows what chaos we'd be in if it was down to me...

Bit of a milestone

I have just realised that it's a year this week since I first started writing this blog.

At the time, I didn't know the first thing about websites. Now, however, 'Google ratings', 'UVs' and 'agg views' are all part of our every day conversation.

Looking back, I can hardly believe that when I first started out as a junior reporter, we didn't even have e-mail, let alone the Internet, and no-one knew what a website was... How things have changed.

Most publications these days recognise the importance of websites and give them as much attention as their newspapers or magazines.

We certainly do here, which is why we endeavour to keep the content fresh and lively, and why I am sitting here writing this blog.

To my mind, though, the best thing of all about having a website is that it enables us to engage with you, our readers, in a very immediate way.

More than anything, the website is a place where you can let us know your views about everything from your favourite restaurant or pub to recommendations for days out in the county or the best farmers' markets.

Plus, we always welcome your feedback on the magazine - both good and bad - so why not post a comment below, or otherwise visit the forum where you can meet fellow readers, too.    

We look forward to hearing from you!

Herbs & spices

Just got the July edition off to the printers, and I have to admit, I really like this issue.

The lavender feature, in particular, is a lovely story. Did you know that Surrey was once one of the world's leading producers of this fragrant herb? Personally, I had no idea.

What is even more interesting is that there is now a real lavender revival going on in the county, and come harvest time in July, you can buy all manner of locally produced lavender goods - from pot pourri to essential oil and even cookies!

As far as the cover is concerned, we eventually found a lavender shot that worked - praise be to God and all his angels - though I have to say that the one we've gone with wasn't my first choice.

To be a good editor, though, I think sometimes you have to know when to back down, especially when it's a simple difference of opinion, and I felt this was one of those occasions.

Some battles are worth fighting, others aren't, and I prefer a bit of democracy when it comes to the front cover.

We'll see - the proof will be in the pudding, as they say, and how many of you decide to pick up the mag and buy it. 

You're hired

So, Lee won The Apprentice in the end... The general consensus in our office seems to be that he was the right man for the job (though, personally, I'd refuse point blank to hire anybody who says "that's what I'm talking about"...).  

Actually, just while I think of it, if you're a fan of the show and already suffering withdrawal symptoms, then don't miss the July edition of the magazine (out on Wednesday June 25) . We have an absolutely cracking story about what happened when Raef, Michael & co filmed their tissue advert at Reedham Park School in Purley, including an interview with the head teacher on what she thought of them all.

I've felt a bit like I've been on The Apprentice myself this week - except that it's a task that has gone on for days and days. In short, I am still on the hunt for a lavender photo that will work for our front cover and, frankly, I am losing the will to live...

I'm not joking when I say that I have probably spent about 30 hours, this week alone, searching picture libraries, scouring websites and ringing and e-mailing photographers. In fact, I've left so many messages I wouldn't be surprised if some of them are considering taking out a restraining order against me.

As things stand at the moment, I have just received a stunning batch of pictures from local photographer Pete Skinner, which I really love, so fingers crossed the rest of the management team like them too.  

If they don't, you might just see me on the next series of The Apprentice - because, quite honestly, their tasks are a piece of cake compared to finding covershots for Surrey Life.

Stop the madness!

Another mad day at Surrey Life towers with barely a moment to catch my breath.

Still, it's shaping up to be a fantastic issue - possibly my favourite so far.

The cover debacle is still continuing apace, though thankfully we found some early flowering lavender and got a photographer out to shoot it today. The pics will be back in the morning so I'm just praying that there will be one among them that works.

In the meantime, just enough time to whizz home for the final of The Apprenctice - hoorah! My money's on Claire, but we'll see...

Purple haze

Just a superquick entry today  to say sorry for the slack blogging over the last couple of days.

No excuse other than the usual deadline mayhem is keeping me even busier than usual this week, and I just haven't had a moment to spare.

Having said that, it's shaping up to be a lovely issue though, with the notable exception of the cover, which is proving to be a monumental nightmare.

For reasons I'll explain in due course, it's absolutely essential that we have a beautiful shot of lavender but finding a picture that works is like searching for the holy grail.

Anyway, in the manner of Indiana Jones, am refusing to give up - even if I have to speak to every single photographer in Surrey to find what I'm looking for... wish me luck!

Surrey Life hits the catwalk

I promised yesterday that I'd bring you news of an exciting event that we're holding with House of Fraser in Guildford. Well, here it is...

It is my great pleasure to tell you that on Thursday September 18, we are hosting a big charity fashion show!

It will be held in the evening at the store itself, which is on Guildford High Street, and we're going to have professional models showcasing some of the key looks from the autumn/winter collections.

There'll be champagne and canapes, as well as some amazing competition prizes, and we'll also have some fantastic goodie bags for you to take home too!

What is more, it's all going to be completely free - I promise there's no catch - though any money we do make on the night from the raffle etc will go to the CHASE children's hospice in Guildford.

The only slight hitch about the whole thing is that they want me to select the outfits - kind of like an 'editor's choice' sort of thing - and then effectively present the fashion show (gulp!).

Being a boots and opaque tights kind of girl, I love autumn/winter clothes and can't wait to start looking at all the new season's collections - though the thought of talking about them in front of a few hundred people makes me break out in a cold sweat...

Anyway, will worry about the 'presenting' bit later, and for now just think about the fun part - choosing all the clothes - hoorah!

I'll bring you more details as soon as I have them.  

Gorgeous Guildford!

Just got back to the office after a very productive day in Guildford.

It's so easy in this job to end up chained to your desk, as there's always something to do - a feature to be planned, a page to be proofed, an e-mail to be answered etc, etc.

However, you can't beat getting out and about and actually seeing "real"  people. No matter how hard it is to escape the office, it always ends up being so worthwhile and today was a case in point.... 

Started out by meeting a longstanding contact of mine, Diana Roberts at Guildford House Gallery (hi Diana!). The pair of us have worked together on all sorts of things over the years, but incredibly we'd never met so I decided it was about time we did.

Plus, much to my shame, whilst I've visited the shop at Guildford House Gallery on numerous occasions, I had never found time to go round the gallery itself, so Diana very kindly gave me a guided tour. Suffice to say, I was totally blown away.

Though I'd always been vaguely aware that this 17th century town house was a Grade I listed building, it only really becomes apparent when you climb up the finely carved staircase and wander through the upstairs rooms with their ornate ceilings, ancient wooden panelling and original wrought iron windows.

And that's not to mention the amazing paintings on display - all showing scenes of Guildford from over the past few hundred years. Together, they create a really fascinating snapshot of this beautiful town.

Then out the back, you've got this gorgeous little cafe set in an ancient courtyard that is so peaceful you would never believe you were in the middle of Guildford! 

Anyway, it was great to meet you Di (at long last) and to enjoy a chat and a coffee - and, needless to say, I'm already planning my return visit to Guildford House (which, by the way, is also free to get in!).

Next up, it was on to House of Fraser to have lunch with their new PR and marketing officer, Gemma Nearney, who is full of energy and enthusiasm, and positively brimming with ideas.

We hit it off from the word go - especially when we discovered we both shared a mutual dread of gyms and a love of food and wine - and I can't wait to get cracking with our first project - which will be one of the most exciting events in Surrey Life history!

Just waiting for the final details to be firmed up with Surrey Life promotions manager, Steph Drury, who also attended today's meeting, and then I hope to be able to tell you all about it tomorrow!

Right, despite the fact that my inbox is bursting at the seams, I'm going to go home and take adantage of this lovely, long overdue sunshine - fingers crossed it holds for the weekend.

Happy Birthday, Helen!

It's a very special day today in the Surrey Life office as Helen Hughes, our senior production coordinator, is celebrating her 21st birthday.

Many happy returns, Helen! Hope you have a fantastic day, in spite of being at work, and that you have a wonderful time tonight (Helen is off to Italian restaurant Trevi in West Byfleet, the lucky thing!).

It seems a scarily long time since I was 21, and nowadays birthdays are something to be brushed under the carpet rather than drawn attention to.

I've always thought my mum had the right idea; from her mid twenties, she stopped telling anyone how old she was, and to this day, no-one is quite sure. I don't think even my dad was entirely certain.

Anyway, Helen, a very happy birthday from us all! Now where's that celebratory round of coffee...  

Another day, another argument

Coming from a background in regional newspapers, where I first started out as a news reporter, I'm used to getting angry phone calls/e-mails etc.

My editor at the time always used to say that a story was only 'news' if someone somewhere didn't want it to go in the paper - otherwise it was just a press release - and he was absolutely right (though, admittedly, that wasn't much consolation when the paper came out and we were bombarded with irate calls from disgruntled councillors / furious press officers etc..).

When I eventually went on to work in features, which tend to be less contentious than news, things became a little bit easier. We did get the occasional annoyed phone call, but mostly they were just from some C-list celebrity or other who felt they hadn't been portrayed quite as the A-list star they imagined they were.

Anyway I digress... the point I am getting to is that when I became editor at Surrey Life, I thought my days of placating angry people were over. In the main, we tend to write about "nice" things, celebrating all the things that are good about our county - our fantastic restaurants, farmshops & pubs, the wonderful countryside, our fascinating heritage etc. Therefore, I thought I was on to a winner. How could anyone take offence at saying something is great?

Well, frankly, you'd be amazed. At the moment, it seems, barely a week goes past without someone going bonkers about something or other. In fact, I have come to the conclusion that even the most positive news story, or the most innocuous Q&A, will upset someone somewhere... 

Today was a case in point... We are hugely excited to be publishing a feature in our next issue on the fascinating story of Agatha Christie and how she faked her death at Newlands Corner, between Shere and Guildford, and then disappeared for 24 hours. I won't go into the details here (it's all in the next issue) but, suffice to say, it's a mystery that rivals any of those in her books.

It's not the first time the story has been told - indeed, it was all over the nationals in the 1920s - but, to this day, no-one has got to the bottom of what happened, so we thought we'd do some digging around of our own and put forward our own theory as to what went on.

Naturally, our first port of call was the official Agatha Christie organisation, which produces the best-selling books and popular TV programmes, as we knew they'd have something interesting to say on the subject.

Imagine my amazement then when I received an e-mail saying that they refused to comment. What...? This was hardly a news story about a company polluting the local water table. This was a lighthearted historical feature about something that happened nearly a hundred years ago!

Cue a fairly heated e-mail exchange and it turns out that Agatha Christie's grandson, who is chairman of the organisation, refuses point blank to talk about the affair, and their final word on the matter was this.

"The family is very reticent with regards to the disappearance and as Mathew Prichard, Agatha Christie’s grandson, is chairman of Agatha Christie Ltd it was deemed more appropriate for no comment at all to be made."

Good lord. Presumably they are under the illusion that if they never comment then the whole incident will eventually be brushed under the carpet. It doesn't seems to have occurred to them that if they think all the historians/newspaper reporters etc got it wrong, then they might want to set the record straight.

Well, if they don't want the free publicity for their books etc, then fine - their loss. We'll just go off and find another expert to comment instead - hopefully someone who is a little more helpful.

Anyway, you see what I mean? Honestly, sometimes, I think news reporting was more straightforward...

Strictly ballroom

Well, after all that panicking about the ball (see previous entry), it turned out to be a lovely evening.

At the eleventh hour, I suddenly remembered a "little black dress" crumpled up in the back of my wardrobe; no-one made us take to the dance floor (fortunately for everyone concerned); and in spite of my pre-ball nerves I managed to limit my wine intake to a respectable couple of glasses.   

Whilst we didn't actually attempt any quicksteps or waltzes ourselves, watching everybody else swirl across across the floor was a real joy.

There's something rather wonderful about seeing dancing done "properly", and as many of the people there were members of Vincent & Flavia's dance classes, needless to say they were pretty damn good (especially, we felt, the Mark Ramprakash look-alike in the stripey shirt!).

The undoubted highlight of the evening, however, was watching world champions Vincent & Flavia do their legendary tango, which was absolutely breathtaking. What a treat to see it performed at such close quarters.

The evening also raised lots of money for the World Wildlife Fund, too, so it was all in a good cause as well. 

Anyway, many thanks to Vincent, Flavia and organiser Garth (who also won the dance-off) for such a fantastic evening - and also to my sister Lindsey for allowing me to drag her along to yet another random event!

Who knows, you might yet see us at those Wednesday night dance classes!