Pastures new

It's fair to say I very much fell into working in radio, and have had a pretty bad bout of imposter syndrome ever since.

I had applied for a weeks work experience at Medway FM during the summer holidays before my final year at university. Even I was starting to panic as to what I was going to do with my life after studies.

The idea of sports journalism had interested me for a few years, although that may have been swayed by an 'admiration' of rugby and its players!

I had carried out a placement at the local newspaper when I was 16 and it seemed to go pretty well, so how different could radio be?

Well, it more or less changed my life - so I guess, that's how different.

At the end of the week's placement, news editor Simon Morgan asked if I would like to have a go at reading the news. What?!

Actually broadcasting and trying to navigate those faders on that terrifying machine in the studio? Yes, exactly that - although I just had to read. Someone else would press the buttons. Phew.

At the time, the station broadcast a 15 minute news programme twice a day. And it was the lunchtime episode where I was to make my debut.

They bravely let me do the sport segment, and by chance it was the day the European Ryder Cup team had been announced.

It was all over in a blur, but from what I can remember, it passed without any major errors and a lot of complicated names thanks to those pesky golfers.

The very kind news ed said: 'well, if you can get through that, you can get through anything'.

I was hooked. The buzz of reading a live bulletin was something I wanted to experience again.

I pestered to help out in the newsroom during my last year at uni, and thankfully they agreed. It was an incredible training ground and I will be forever grateful to the team who passed on such amazing knowledge and skills.

I was offered a job at Medway FM after graduating and after a year, I moved to Invicta FM. Kent's biggest commercial radio staton, complete with The Morning Zoo, the Wind Down Zone and The Fridge.

I spent an incredible eight years at the station, made friends for life and got very used to a 4am alarm.

The very kind news ed said: 'well, if you can get through that, you can get through anything'.

After a brief spell in PR and teaching, it was a return to radio at kmfm.

I can't quite believe it's been 15 years since I first stepped through the door at Medway House on the Medway City Estate (why are a lot of radio stations on business parks? You thought it was all glam right?)

It's fair to say, Kent is one of the busiest news patches going. We always joke 'there's a Kent link to everything' - but very often it turns out to be true.

It's been the biggest privilege of my life to break some of the most important stores to our audience. But also share in the fun and banter with the incredible presenting team.

But, after 26 years of 'reading out loud', it's time for a change.

Hopefully, I'll still be on a radio every now and then if they want me back. But I'm also looking forward to a wonderful new role, sharing the stories of the incredible work done by Abigail's Footsteps.

The babyloss charity supports bereaved parents and their wider families through counselling, bereavement suites in hospitals and Abi cooling cots which allow mums and dads to spend precious time with baby. It also provides valuable training to midwives so the words they say to a parent following a loss are ones of comfort, not ones that will be remembered for the wrong reasons.

Stepping out from behind the microphone is incredibly daunting, but a challenge I'm very much looking forward to.

This blog is going to be much less about work going forward and a bit more about me, home life, my love of gardening and growing veg (and my on going bid to get an allotment) and a few more crazy bits beside.

Thanks for reading - and here's to the next chapter xx