Graduating with a BSC (Hons) in Maritime Studies At Solent University in 1997, like many graduates I really didn’t know what to do. Eyesight prevented me from fulfilling my then-dream of a career at sea, and I tried various administrative roles while working in community radio for a bit of fun.
My interest in journalism was first sparked in 1986-87 when I visited my father during his posting in the Falkland Islands. Here I got to see recent battlefields including the foxholes of Wireless Ridge, minefields and craters from 1,000lb bombs, as well as shipwrecks from the UK’s invasion. Aged 11 at the time, I’d already spent half my life in different countries including the US and Europe thanks to Dad’s NATO postings. To me, world affairs were the reality of life. Dad even got in trouble when Tom Clancy published his first bestseller Hunt for Red October that was a little too accurate for the CIA’s liking!
Thus in Bristol, when the opportunity to do an MA in broadcast journalism came up, supported by a scholarship at Falmouth University, I leapt at the chance. Graduating, I returned to Bristol where I drifted for a bit and then ended up a social affairs print journalist, eventually working with various nursing and housing titles like Inside Housing and Community Care and then the Sunday Express.
The call of the sea wouldn’t leave me and on impulse I moved to Weymouth in 2010. It seems old Neptune had a plan or two, and I combined my schooling in the US with my passion for sailing and joined Boating Times Long Island as a feature writer. Three US Olympic sailors hailed from Long Island and thus began a six month Olympics campaign working with Sailing World, Sail Magazine and a few smaller US regional titles.
The Olympics left and I remained in Weymouth. During university the first time around I did a few environmentalist actions on road protests and with Greenpeace, including paying the then UK PM John Major and French President Jacques Chirac a visit at the UK PM’s country residence of Chequers! This led to an enduring passion for climate change mitigation and transport decarbonisation, and I have worked with various private clients in copywriting and journalism including Freight Carbon Zero and Commercial Motor.
Since 2023 I have deepened my research skills and worked with Transport Intelligence and other consultancies as a research analyst. This has involved working on various research projects including industry forecasts, due diligence ahead of product launches and mergers, and white papers and financial news reports on 20 of the world’s major logistics companies. Essentially, my first degree came to some use in the end!
If you’re reading this far, I’d hope you want to work with me by now! Have a look at my portfolio pages above and Contact Me to discuss working together.