Surrey Life Editor's Blog

Manic Monday

Managed to take the whole of this weekend off - for a change - but am paying for it now.

What with the Downing Street thing on Thursday, followed by the first ever regional magazine conference all day Friday (at which our very own Max Clifford is the key speaker), it's shaping up to be a monumentally busy week.

What is more, it all leaves precious little time to spend on the magazine.

Consequently, I've been like a bear with a sore head today, snapping at anyone who dares get within spitting distance of my desk

Put it this way, I have over a hundred pages to get over to subeditor Chris Clark, most of which need to be ready in the next three days, so any interruptions are a major source of irritation.

Hmm, at this rate I'm in danger of turning into Meryl Streep's character in The Devil Wears Prada - though, to be fair, I've yet to start throwing my coat on Matt's desk as I waltz through the door...

However, I can totally imagine myself bleating, "that's all...", when I want to cut someone off in their tracks, which is something of a worry.

Anyway, I digress...  All this rambling is not going to get any work done, so back to the grindstone...

That Friday feeling

What a joy to look out the window and see some lovely autumn sunshine (though why it couldn't do this in August, I don't know...).

Still, it made for a very pleasant drive down to head office in Worthing this morning for the monthly plan & review meeting.

The countryside looked so beautiful, with the colour on the trees just starting to turn, all lit up by the early morning rays (hark at me!).

Anyway, in a surprise turn of events, the meeting itself went very smoothly (often, the plan & reviews can get quite heated, occasionally even breaking into punch-ups, er debates, I mean...) but everyone seemed reasonably pleased with the new October issue.

In a further bit of good news, back at Surrey Life towers, circulation manager Phil just sent me the first batch of figures for the September edition (think of it a bit like the votes coming in for the Eurovision contest) and it seems we've had a record sale in WHSmiths.

Fingers crossed that this is reflected across the rest of the shops in the county... we should know more by next Wednesday.

Right, better get back to the task in hand - editing a feature on Chobham - so that I can hopefully slope off a little earlier than normal to soak up some of that sunshine...

Meeting the PM (yes, really...)

Feeling pretty rubbish today with this rotten cold, so please note that I only want to hear from readers who love the new magazine (out in the shops from today).

Meanwhile, find myself in the bizarre situation of having an appointment at 10 Downing Street next week - yes, that one - yikes...

In short, I'm a member of the British Society of Magazine Editors (BSME) and Gordon Brown has invited us to attend a reception with him next Thursday night.

This is a terrifying prospect for various reasons...

Funnily enough, it's not so much the PM himself who scares me - I reckon he needs all the friends he can get right now - it's more just not making any stupendous gaffes...

For a start, how are you meant to address him? Mr Brown... Sir... Your Lordship? And do you shake hands with the PM or is a curtsey more appropriate?

Knowing my luck, the key moment will arrive just as I've taken a huge bite of a cheese straw, and then he'll ask me for a detailed explanation of the impact of the internet on the regional press.  

Oh yes, and what, pray tell, do you wear to visit 10 Downing Street? It says on the invitation "smart" - but what does that mean? A business suit, evening attire, cocktail dress? Answers on a postcard or post a comment below...  

And, of course, that's not to mention the scariest thing of all - namely making small talk with the others - you know, the editors of Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Grazia, GQ, Men's Health etc, etc - gulp...

However, the biggest challenge of all has surely got to be trying to smuggle a copy of Surrey Life onto his coffee table - but, rest assured, I'll be giving it my best shot.

Under the weather

Humph.. woke up this morning aching all over and feeling the distinct onset of a cold.

Been a bit out of sorts for the last couple of days, but it has now turned into a raging sore thoat as well.

I'm never ill, which makes the whole thing even more annoying... grrrrrr...

Anyway, ploughing on regardless (I don't believe in taking time off sick, except in the most extreme circumstances) and determined to keep my mind off it by throwing myself into the next edition.

We're already well underway with the November issue, and with the exception of the cover (as ever, that old chestnut is proving a little 'challenging'), it seems to be coming together fairly well - famous last words, hey?! 

Right, where are my Lemsips...

October mag, hall of shame and the HoF

The new magazine arrived in the office this morning and will be in shops all over Surrey by tomorrow - and, suffice to say, you definitely won't miss it...

It's another very, er, distinctive cover - in fact, probably the most radical one we've done - so I'll be very interested to hear what you think.

One way or another, it's a lovely issue absolutely packed full with brilliant things to do this autumn - from where to see the best seasonal colour to all the finest local produce and loads of lovely walks etc.

Then, of course, there's our must-read interview with model Katie Price all about her life in Surrey; a fascinating feature on the night that Agatha Christie faked her own disappearance at Newlands Corner, near Guildford; and the complete lowdown to Surrey's delicious range of local beers.  

As ever, let us know what you like - and don't like it - in the magazine, either by writing to the usual address, sending an e-mail to editor@surreylife.co.uk or posting a comment below.

In other news, there's quite a debate raging in the office at the moment, about whether it's acceptable for people to have an untidy desk if they do their jobs well.

Ad manager Damien thinks not, and whilst I'm normally quite relaxed about these things, looking round at the state of some of the desks today, I have to agree...  

In fact, unless there's some improvement, I might even go a bit News of the World in this blog and start naming and shaming. Don't say you weren't warned!

Finally, further to last week's fashion show, I thought you might be interested to know that House of Fraser Guildford is hosting another fantastic free event tomorrow evening. 

This time, however, the theme will be homeware, and there'll be special discounts, champagne, Austrian canapes and chocolates, music from a string quartet and a charity raffle.

It all kicks off from 6pm, and work commitments permitting, I hope to be there myself.

Farewell Flavia

So, Flavia Cacace and her dance partner Phil Daniels were the first couple to go out of Strictly Come Dancing - what a shame...

Aside from the fact that we have a big interview with the Guildford-based dancer in the current issue, I've met her several times in the past and not only is she breathtakingly good at the tango, she is a lovely person as well.

I know she'll be bitterly disappointed to have left the series so early, but at least we can still look forward to seeing her in the professional show dances.  

Meanwhile, it looks like Surrey's hopes will now be resting on her professional partner, Vincent Simone, also from Guildford, and his dance partner Rachel Stevens.

They've already been singled out by the judges for the early promise they've shown so I reckon they stand a pretty good chance.

Anyway, best of luck guys - here at Surrey Life we're all rooting for you! 

PS Am I the only one who thinks that it was so much better when the results were shown on the Saturday night rather than the Sunday?

A big thank you

Just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who came along to the Surrey Life Fashion Show at House of Fraser, Guildford, last night.

It was the first time we have ever held an event like that, so I must admit that we were all a bit apprehensive beforehand, but it turned out to be a lovely evening - thanks largely to PR and promotions manager Gemma Nearney who did such a marvellous job of organising everything.

Champagne, canapes, catwalk shows, shopping, style advice, makeovers and a charity raffle in aid of CHASE... what more could you want? Well, aside from a hefty pay rise to be able to afford everything; their Nicole Farhi stuff is just to die for.

The fashion show itself, which was basically a preview of all the gorgeous new autumn/winter collections, was truly fabulous - and everyone seemed particularly taken with the male model in the show who turned out to be a bit of a Colin Farrell look-alike.

Having said that, there were some rumblings of discontent when the girls strode out in beautiful lacy underwear and the bloke was nowhere to be seen. I mean, not that we expected him to model lacy underwear but a pair of Calvins would have sufficed. Anyway, I have promised to investigate personally... 

In fact, the only real disaster of the evening was my own 'star turn' on the catwalk, when I had to do a sort of welcome speech of sorts.

Now as anyone who knows me will testify, I have a pathological hatred of public speaking and, to my horror, it really did all go a bit 'Bridget Jones' with microphone feedback, me rushing through my words like a maniac and basically committing just about every cardinal sin of public speaking imaginable. Put it this way, I don't think Martin Luther King has got anything to worry about ...

Anyway, that aside, it was a lovely evening and we are hoping to repeat the experience in the spring.

It was a rather eventful night all round actually as, meanwhile, the rest of the team were at Denbies Vineyard in Dorking for the launch of the Surrey Business Awards, which I understand was also a great success (smoothed along, no doubt, by several glasses of wine consumed all in the name of 'wine tasting')...

Then, the entire team reconvened in Reigate for a night out at, wait for it, JJ Whispers in Church Street (don't ask...). Needless to say, there were a few people in the office today looking a teensy bit fragile...

Anyway, a big thank you once again to everyone who came along to the fashion show and who worked so hard to make it such a success - and look forward to seeing you at the next one (by which time I will hopefully have had some lessons in public speaking...).     

Surrey Life hits the catwalk!

The October issue is safely off at the printers, so everyone's thoughts are now firmly on tomorrow night's fashion show at House of Fraser in Guildford. 

It promises to be a fabulous evening - despite the fact that I have to stand up and make a speech (gulp!) - in which we'll be showcasing the store's gorgeous autumn/winter collections.

There will also be champagne and canapés, makeovers, style advice and a goodie bag for everyone – and, what is more, it’s all completely free!

Oh, and naturally, there'll be plenty of time to indulge in a bit of retail therapy, too!

There will also be a raffle with some fantastic prizes – and proceeds will be going to one of our favourite charities, the CHASE children’s hospice in Guildford.

It all kicks off at 6pm, when the champagne and canapés will be served, followed by a 20-minute catwalk show at 7pm, which will be repeated at 8pm for those who want to get there a bit later.

The shopping/style advice/makeovers etc will go on throughout the evening and the store will close at 10pm.

It’s going to be a really great night - and it's not often you'll get the chance to check out my public speaking skills (or lack thereof) - so I hope to see you there.

October issue

I know, I know - slack blogging again - I'm sorry. In the the midst of the usual deadline mayhem and I haven't had a moment to catch my breath this week.

Still, it's shaping up to be a fantastic issue, and I'm just getting to the point now where it's all really starting to come together.

The Katie Price interview is looking great - and, even more importantly, it's an absolutely cracking read all about her life in Surrey - then there's loads of lovely autumn-related features, a brilliant article on local beer and an in-depth investigation into the county's greatest unsolved mystery.

Then, we also have an interview with TV star John Bird - who talks all about life in Newdigate, his beloved llamas (yes, really) and why's he's "rashly" agreed to be the new patron of the Arts Alive festival - an interesting piece on what's being done to save our stately homes and a handy preview of Guildford Book Festival.

... and that's just the start! All in all, I really like the features in this issue. In fact, my only real concern this month was how we were ever going to follow the Keira cover.

That's the problem when you do something a bit exciting or daring with the cover - you're then faced with the challenge of how to better it the following month.

Well, once again we've come up with something that's a million miles away from the 'old-school' blue sky, green grass, old building etc, so I just hope you like it.

In the meantime, back to the proofing extravaganza... 

Number crunching

Had to make a difficult decision tonight regarding the size of the next issue.

In a nutshell, in spite of the current economic climate, the sales team has absolutely stormed it this month, with half of Surrey wanting to advertise in the mag.

As a result, the pagination has already leapt up from 164 pages to 196 - which is great news for everyone.

But when ad manager Damien St George sidled up to my office tonight, put on his best smile and asked if we could go up another 16 pages, I felt I had to draw the line.

"Just imagine - it'll be 212 pages - our biggest issue ever," he pointed out, quite rightly to be fair.

"And just image," I replied, "how you would feel if you suddenly had to come up with a shedload of extra pages, completely from scratch, right on deadline."

We could have done it, but frankly we're so flat out getting the rest of the mag finished, it would have been a nightmare - and when features are thrown together in a rush, and not thought out properly, that's when the standard drops and mistakes creep in. 

So, tempting thought it is to go out with the biggest mag in Surrey Life history, I have decided that maintaining the quality of this issue (not to mention my sanity) is more important. 

The record-breaking edition will come all in good time - when we've had chance to plan and prepare for it properly.

A bird in the hand

Well, as predicted, the launch party for Mole Valley Arts Alive - one of the county's biggest arts festivals - turned out to be a very pleasant evening and a welcome respite in a manic week.

The party was held in the lovely setting of the Dorking Halls, and it was good to catch up with some old friends - such as the theatre's marketing manager, Samantha Watson - as well as meeting a few new faces from the local arts scene.    

Patron John Bird was there, too, and his sardonic, dry style had  the assembled guests in stitches - you can hear more from him in the next issue of Surrey Life when he'll be talking all about his involvement with the event.

It certainly promises to be an absolutely fantastic festival this year, with well over a hundred events taking place throughout October, ranging from concerts to art workshops and exhibitions. We'll also be including our pick of the best in the next issue, too.  

In other news, ploughing ahead with the October edition (can we really be working on October already?) and thoroughly enjoying reading about lovely autumny things such as pumpkins, apples and wine...

Among other seasonal highlights, we're including a feature on 25 brilliant things to do in October, and it's amazing just how many things there are going on at that time of the year - from food festivals to autumn walks and fungi forays   

Anyway, don't suppose you want to think about that just yet. Like me, you're probably still clinging on to the hope of some late summer sunshine, though looking out the window I'm not holding my breath....

The countdown begins...

It's been another busy day at the Surrey Life office as deadline week creeps up again with alarming speed.

It's always at this point in the production cycle, a couple of weeks before we go to press, that I start to wonder if the magazine will ever get finished.

As well as the last of the features flooding in, there are well over a hundred proofs to get over to sub editor Chris Clark, not to mention management reports to complete and the usual barrage of meetings.

If only there were three of me then everything would be fine (not something, however, that I would wish on the rest of the team, who I'm sure would insist that one is quite enough...)

Off to yet another engagement this evening, the launch of the Arts Alive festival at the Dorking Halls, but to be fair, this one should be quite fun.

Plenty of nibbles, a glass of wine and lots of interesting arty people should hopefully make for a fairly enjoyable evening (and at least it will take my mind off deadline week for a bit).

Katie, Keira and a lot of meetings

Just a quick one to say sorry for the lack of entries over the last few days.

Had a whole succession of meetings, everywhere from Reigate to Guildford via Dorking, not to mention untold dramas with our Katie Price interview (don't ask).

Actually, I didn't dare mention that we were hoping to get her for our October edition, lest I tempted fate, but at long last the interview has been done (thank the Lord).

Suffice to say, she turned out to be absolutely lovely - very chatty and down to earth - and it's going to be an absolutely cracking read. I'll tell you more about it in due course.

In other news, the September edition seems to be absolutely flying off the shelves (I knew Keira would come good for us!), so you'll have to be quick if you want to snap that one up.

It's a lovely issue, though I say so myself, and so far we've had some really good feedback.

Why not let us know what you think by posting a comment below, or e-mailing me at the usual address: editor@surreylife.co.uk