How to Become a Print Journalist

Posted on June 6, 2017 by OhRochelle

I have searched far and wide for blogs on how to get into journalism.

This is no disrespect to bloggers but I’m talking specifically about a traditional method of journalism; print. I have seen a thousand and one blogs on how to make money from your blog and how to make money from home which is fantastic but if you are anything like me and like the security of having your holidays paid for, sickness days sorted but still want to write…then you have come to the right place.

I have come up with a ten step plan to help you get ahead in print journalism.

Step One : Take yourself seriously.
If print journalism is something you are really passionate about then make sure you take the necessary steps to prove to yourself and to potential employees that you are serious about this subject. Read books on print journalism and make sure you have a good knowledge. I recommend “The Journalist’s Handbook” by Kim Fletcher.

This book is AMAZING!

It’s a really inspiring read. Also you can take a course or educate yourself online and make sure you know exactly what you are getting yourself in for. Print journalism is not a stress and care free job and it takes a lot if will power and determination to even get into the field let alone stay there.

Step Two: Cultivate an interest in current affairs
Oh you hate watching the news? Well hate to be the one to tell you this but half of the news that is reproduced by newspapers is just that. REPRODUCED. you have to watch the news, listen to the radio, trawl the internet and generally be an informed person. You should be watching the news ideally once a day, and making sure you are up to date with all public and current affairs.

Step Three: Leave your comfort zone
Speak to people you don’t know or join a class to find more friends and generally become a more informed and more rounded person. Journalists need to be friendly , approachable and easy to talk to so why not get some practise in?\

Step Four: Get some Contacts.
That old saying “It’s not what you know it’s who you know” is one of the most important things you will learn as journalist. I cannot stress enough that you need to make sure you have an address book or a way of logging peoples information. I’m talking about everyone you meet! Make sure you get a number or an email and log it because you never know when you will need a quote from someone in a certain field.

Step Five: Get a blog.
Make sure you don’t lose sight of what you want to do…write. Blogs are a great way to link to other people too. You have the whole of the internet at your fingers and it is a greatly of showcasing what you can do writing wise too. Interviews love to see portfolios and even better if your portfolio is a digital one.

Step Six: Learn to gather material.
So it’s not just about speaking to people on the street, it’s about speaking to people relevant to your story. A news story in it’s most basic terms is; Go out into the world, find something newsworthy, capture it and publish it. But make sure the information in-between those steps is both relevant, true informative and entertaining.

Step Seven: Brush up your writing skills.
Surely it goes without saying but newspapers will only be hiring people who are able to write well. It would be beneficial to take a course and learn the format of a newspaper article. If you have not gone to university to study it, try and fine a distant learning course than can teach you this.

Tried to draw an infographic, I’ll stick to writing.

Make sure you check for silly things like spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.

Step Eight: Gain Work Experience
Start with something modest. if you are at school, the school paper. College or university, your local paper. Older than that… definitely your local paper! Why have you not tried there sooner? In journalism it’s all about working your way up and there is nothing wrong with that. It makes you value your job more.

Step Nine: Build a Portfolio.
Work experience plus your blog means you will have a pretty hefty portfolio. Make sure you showcase your best work and nothing that may come off as mediocre. Your portfolio should show the type of journalist you are and who you want to be. Pick out pieces with a by line or blogs you had a lot of hits on.

Step Ten: Find paid work.
This means spamming all networks possible, or it did for me. I used websites such as holdthefrontpage.co.uk or indeed if you search for the right thing. The main tip I can give you here is: when you get interviews to make sure portfolio is professional and make sure the real you shows through. They want to see that you are a nice friendly person that they can trust to be the face of the paper.

I hope that was helpful to anyone who wanted any advice. If anyone has anymore questions please leave a comment below.

I Wanted To Be a Vet…

Posted on June 3, 2017 by OhRochelle

I got talking to someone at work yesterday about jobs and what career paths we have been on. It got me thinking about previous jobs and how journalism has always been the only option in reality.

I’m going to take you back to when I was about three or four. I spent weekends with my dad and from a young age my dad taught me to respect animals and would always make comments to family and friends saying “Rochelle is going to be a vet one day!” And it stuck.

So anyway back to four year old me. I had found a snail in the garden, I think this must have been my first encounter with a snail because I ran into my Grandma’s house screaming for my dad to come outside and see what i found. As I ran back outside to show him, I crushed said snail under my tiny Clarks shoe. My dad has since told me I cried, for quite a long time.

He took me to a big country park to cheer me up the next weekend and there was loads of animals there, that thankfully I couldn’t reach and hurt! And then this big white bird appeared on the lake and I said to my dad “Look at the size of that duck!”. It was a swan.

Fast forward a few years I got my first job in pet shop to gain a bit of work experience with animals. I opened up the shop, fed all of the animals, cleaned them out , made sure they all had water and looked fit and healthy. Then there was the poorly animals in a room upstairs and I spent the rest of my shift nursing them. My favourite was this really fat rabbit called Roger. After a few weeks of Roger being on a strict diet, Roger gave birth to 3 baby rabbits. Roger was re-named Jessica quite swiftly. And I adopted one of the baby rabbits, Millie.

Then came the summer of adoptions. I was given twenty quid every Saturday for my eight hours hard graft and with this twenty pounds, I started purchasing animal after animal. I had four rabbits and a hamster. My mum quickly put her foot down. But then I was overwhelmed with all the cleaning out and the food consumption and my twenty pounds just wasn’t stretching so unfortunately I had to give my rabbits to my cousins.

17883696_663455217172832_6475468170083735762_n

Me and a horse who wasn’t scared of me.

In the same year I had the opportunity to take my English GCSE early (Year 9 rather than Year 11) I came out with a B grade which at the time was impressive for a 13 year old but I still re took it in my final year to come out with an A*. At this point I was not doing so well in biology and chemistry. In fact I found them extremely hard and had to revise A LOT. But I never had to put much work in to English.

It wasn’t until college that I realised that being a vet just wasn’t for me. I finished first year with an E in biology and I had also learnt to drive. By my second month driving I had killed a magpie, a rabbit and a mouse. I think the problem was I just loved them too much.

17861993_663455107172843_1049576043614324779_n

Here I am trying to befriend a baby cow

Then I had the heart wrenching decision of what was I going to do with my life if I couldn’t be a vet. I had to speak to a lot of people including my Dad and let him down gently. After speaking to my mum she told me about how when I was a kid I didn’t really play with toys. I would pick a book over a toy any day. And how I would never argue with my mum if I was told off, I would write letters and send them down the stairs.

It was only then that I realised it had always been English. I needed to revise like I revised for biology but for a subject that came naturally and I knew then, that journalism is what I wanted to get into.

18446653_693246680867164_1644912331334507072_n

Probably best I stick to this.

A book I’ve read recently described journalism as the one night stand of writing because you give it all away in the first sentence. And that’s why I love journalism because you can write for the masses. You can write a piece that everyone will understand and there is no suspense. There is so much structure to follow in journalism and I like that for work because I can completely ignore these structures when I write for fun. The confines help me identify between work and leisure.

And just in case I needed any more confirmation that I took the right career path, on the way home from work, I killed a duck.

Five Reasons You Should Quit Your Job NOW

Posted on May 31, 2017 by OhRochelle

Last month I landed a job that I’ve wanted for a lot of years. It took a lot of guts to make the move but I’m so happy I did it.

I’ve heard and made every excuse under the sun to stay somewhere where I’m miserable but I’ve now realised that life is too short to stay somewhere you are unhappy.

My mum has commented on several occasions on how much of a different person I am now I actually enjoy my work.

She’s said “You were miserable grumpy moaning little sh**, but now I’ve not heard one bad word. You were always so miserable on a Sunday because you knew you were back at work the next day but now you look forward to it. It’s so nice to see.”

So anyone who knows me or my mum knows that she doesn’t mince her words, and yes, quitting my job was the best decision I could have ever made not just for myself but for my family and my relationship too.

You spend a good chunk of your life in employment, a third of your day is spent in the confines of your job, approximately 40 hours a week with your colleagues.

Please do not think you are alone in hating your job. You’re not. But you need to do something about it before it has an even more negative effect on your life.

Here are some excuses I have heard/previously used and why they are absolute nonsense

1) If I quit they win.

This is the whole winners don’t quit and quitters don’t win saying and its absolute rubbish. Who’s winning? While you stay in your job miserable your boss isn’t winning, you’re not winning by wasting your life? There is no shame in leaving a job that you are unhappy in because you are the leader of your own life and you need to take control.

2) I can’t quit I need money.

I have been in some pretty dire situations money wise and I’m not suggesting its always been the most sensible reason to quit but your health is worth way more than your salary. And we are fortunate enough in the UK that we have a safety net to fall back on. We pay our national insurance whilst in employment incase the unthinkable happens and we find ourselves without a job. And while I am not suggesting the job centre is a long term security, it’s there for dire circumstances while you pursue a suitable career.

3) Everywhere will be the same.

Pooh pooh.
Everywhere is not the same. Every where is completely different, and you’d be surprised how much your attitude can affect your environment. If you are a positive and pleasant person you will find that you will be treated with the same respect. There are so many great places to work, and if you don’t like the office environment, find something in retail. If you don’t like a customer facing role, look into manufacturing or behind the scenes role. There is always something.

4) Things might improve

Yep, you’re right. And you might get a pay rise. And your horrible boss might quit. Or your annoying co-worker might quit.
Or you might continue to wait for these things and before you know it two more years have passed and you are still stuck in your rut of a job. Waiting for something is counter productive, if you want things to change you have to actively make that happen, not sit around and wait for someone to change it for you.

5) I’ll lose contact with the nice people at work.

If they are truly nice, and they are more than colleagues they will stay in touch, just as you will with them. If you are truly unhappy at work and cannot stand your job they will understand and respect your decision.

Ultimately staying in a job you hate is not good for your health, your family or for your self esteem. Workplace stress is one of the biggest hazards in the work place. It causes you to be lethargic and lack energy and robs you of the ability to make healthy decisions. If you truly hate your job, I recommend getting out of there as soon as possible, and never looking back.

If you are struggling with making a decision make sure you speak to someone close to you or if your job is making you feel really low please speak to a GP.

We Stand With Manchester

Posted on May 23, 2017 by OhRochelle

The Manchester bomb. I’ve kept quite quiet about this today because I honestly cannot comprehend what those people have been or are going through. I cannot get the thought of my first concert out of my head, how excited I was to go and see the band with my mum, step dad and step sister. We spent hours getting ready, we were 15 years old and so so excited to go and watch the band. But I have such fond memories of that night and I cannot get it into my head that those people had those same butterflies about seeing Ariana Grande, and it ending in such despair.

I never imagined to wake up this morning and know that something so close to home could happen so those poor people at the concert must be in absolute shock.

And then to add insult to injury, I’ve read all day long about fake news stories, people lying to get likes and retweets. What the hell is the world coming to? These people lying are the same people spreading hate and wrongful lies about the perpetrator.

We need to be standing as one and not turning on anyone. We need to use social media to its advantages. We need to offer whatever services we have to people in need. And for the most part that is what I’ve seen.

Please make sure you know if something is valid first before sharing it.

Please don’t make insensitive jokes about the attack because you don’t know who is reading what you have wrote, the world is a small place and social media is making the world even smaller.

And please stick together and stop tearing people apart. The only person/people you should be angry with is the attacked and if he had any accomplices.

25 Things That Make Me Happy

Posted on May 22, 2017 by OhRochelle

I’m making a stand to be/feel/act more positive so in honour of this new found self respect I am going to give you all a list of 25 things that make me happy. I think sometimes in this ‘first world problems’ life we lead we forget that there is so much around us to smile about.

The dogs I have the pleasure to be around. I love that they are genuinely happy to see you regardless of what mood your in, whether you’ve showered or not, whether you’re wearing make up or look like a tramp. They see past all that and just love you, how can that not make you happy?
My Mum, who has spent her whole life putting me first, and who I try and repay by making her laugh, and doing the very best I can to be a good person a daily basis.
My friends who have stuck by me through thick and thin, through all the tears, tantrums and laughs and are till always at the other end of the phone whenever I need them and who I can bother with any strange or bizarre thought that crosses my mind and know that it will be kept in complete confidence.
Martyn, who takes it upon himself to make me laugh every day regardless of my mood or his. How can that not make me happy?
My family who know that even though I may not get to see them as much as I ought to still always welcome me with open arms and a brew.
Sunny days, of course they make everyone happy but I just love that a sunny day opens up so many opportunities! Which leads me to…
Road trips. I love packing up the car with essentials and just heading off anywhere, as far as your fuel tank can manage.
New hair styles where you feel re-invented and like you can take on anything. And you wait in anticipation for someone to notice so you can say “Yeah I just fancied a change…” and look all brave and courageous.
Writing; very apt I suppose but it does feel so good to just put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and just let it flow out.
Music. Sometimes the only thing that can really express how you are feeling and there is nothing better than just cutting loose and letting your hair down to your favourite song.
Takeaways. Now this is a bit of an odd one for me because I am always on a constant diet but I love those nights where you’ve been looking forward to a takeaway all day and you know you can comfort eat and watch…
Movies/TV. I mean this can make you feel a whole load of things but I like that warm fuzzy feeling you get when you get really into a series or you watch a scary film with the other half, or a rom com with your friend.
Nights Out, now I don’t do this very often at all! But the whole lead up to night out makes me happy. The preparation, the hair the make up the outfit, the pre drinks the music the spending time with the girls! I love it!
Chocolate. I’m a girl. Enough said.
Travelling. I absolutely love exploring so don’t care where I go I just love discovering new places and new things to see.
Photos. I love pretending I’m some type of David Bailey character when in actual fact I have no idea what I’m doing. Give it a good go because I love finding that gem of a photograph.
Books, because its a little adventure that doesn’t cost anything. You can open a book and literally be anywhere in the world, be anyone you want to be. You get to half create the story in your mind and whats not to like about that?
My job. Now I’m really lucky to feel like this but it has been a really journey to get here. I have worked my arse off to get where I am and gone through countless jobs that make me miserable but there is a real sense of zen when you are on your way to work and not dreading it.
Compliments. Now before you all think I’m vain or whatever I love hearing someone acknowledge that I’ve done something different, or that they value my outfit choice, or they’ve noticed I’ve lost weight and in turn it makes me happy. I don’t expect them but its nice when I do get them 🙂
Coffee. I would say I’m probably about 90% coffee. All fluids in my body have been replaced with coffee. I drink so much coffee that it doesn’t give me a buzz anymore it just lets me function. But the coffee I’m talking about is the coffee you get when you’re in a shop or cafe or hotel or something, not Nescafe you have it home. Yum!
Fireworks. Bonfire night is my absolute favourite time of year, even though I’m a cold person, and I’m talking really cold, today it was 22 degrees outside and I still asked if the office minded if out the heating on. But any I digress. Fireworks always make me feel excited for Christmas, and remind me of being a kid and now its my anniversary with Martyn so more reasons for it to make me happy!
Giving Gifts when you have spent ages thinking about what to get someone and getting to see their face when you give them it. I love knowing that you’ve got someone just what they wanted.
Clothes that have just come out of the dryer/just been ironed. Oh wow that is what I live for. There is nothing better than the feeling of warm cotton on your legs!
And while we are on the subject of washing…. Freshly washed bedding. I love getting in bed pulling the quilt up to my chin and smelling wash powder and it feeling all smooth
When my house is clean. I’m not talking about the actually tidying or cleaning I’m talking about the end result when you look round and there is nothing more to do and you don’t know what to do with yourself. That makes me so giddy. I just sit on the corner of my sofa and admire it, or take pictures and send it to my mum so she can compliment me on how well I’ve done! I know how sad that makes me sound.

I know that some of these are weird and out there but I think it’s really important to be aware of what makes you happy. I think you can get stuck in a rut of focusing on the negatives when really there is always a lot of things to smile about.

Leave a comment of any weird and wonderful things that make you smile.

Night Time Musings

Posted on May 21, 2017 by OhRochelle

So I feel like this is quite a private blog that I’m writing but sometimes you just need an outlet and this happens to be mine. I have been under immense stress over the past few months for one reason or another and I can sometimes feel myself becoming more and more irrational the more stressed I get.

I spoke to my friend about this and she told me she felt like that sometimes and we got talking about how girls are labelled as psychos if they do anything irrational. I hate those words “crazy” “psycho” and it’s hypocritical because it is exactly what call myself when I have an episode.

For example I was stressing over some personal issues and on top of that I was extremely tired and before I knew what was coming out of my mouth I had argued with Martyn over a sausage roll. (He can vouch for me on that one).

I think what I’m trying to say is, even though I’m not sure anyone even reads this, sometimes you need to get everything thats clogging up your brain and get out any which way you like. It used to be singing for me but that just isn’t cutting it anymore.

And even though I write for a living I still don’t feel like at the end of the day I’m done. I feel like I’ve still got loads to say and I’m absolutely terrible of trying to speak whats going on in my head. Even when I was younger I would write my mum letters on how I was feeling rather than sit down with her. I don’t know why I’m saying when I was younger because even now I pray that she will text me rather than ring when I have an issue.

I’ve always been a worrier and night times are the worst for me. When I was about 5 or 6 my mum bought me some worry dolls. They are tiny little wooden dolls wrapped in cotton no bigger than a match stick, and they originate from Mexico. Legend says that if you whisper your worries to them at night they will take them away while you sleep, and I religiously got them out if I had anything on my mind and do you know what? It always looked brighter in the morning.

I think the thing I’ve learnt over the past week is it is better to tell someone (which ever means necessary) if you are struggling with something because holding inside only creates a mountain out of mole hill. And now I’m 24 years old and I’m so fortunate that I have my very own real life size worry dolls who don’t mind being that ear to hear my worries and help me out with life’s problems and let me wake up in the morning with a clearer head and feeling brighter.

Motivation Monday – BOOTEA day one

Posted on May 8, 2017 by OhRochelle

Right today is the day I started the BOOTEA 28 day Teatox. I’m not a skinny girl, I don’t claim to be a skinny girl. I have lost a lot of weight but I’m definitely not done yet. This time two years ago no lies I was 18 stone. I’m not proud of how big I got but I am proud that I lost the majority of that weight. I’m ready to lose another two stone though and I feel that a detox is just what I need. I don’t eat particularly unhealthy but I do eat a few naughty things.

Since I started my new job however I have made a conscious effort to only take pack up and not buy anything bad. But I have on a couple of occasions snuck in a chocolate bar, or got caught up in a sausage sandwich hype.

But today no. I have been really really good. I started the day with the Day tea they Bootea provide you with. I’m not a tea lover whatsoever I’m coffee through and through and I’m going to be honest with you all, if you are like me and don’t drink tea very much it is not enjoyable. I think it tasted like the lemon water you wash your hands in at the Indian if you’ve ordered a mixed kebab. The herbs (do you call them herbs in the bag?) had an aroma of a mild coronation chicken sandwich crossed with a very flavourful pasta dish.

I also purchased the porridge, and I’m going to be fair to Bootea, this one is my bad… The instructions tell you to add hot water and stir for 30 seconds. I added the hot water and forgot about it for about 13 minutes. So Bootea I’m sorry for ruining your product.

After I ate my wallpaper paste I’d created I have to admit I was full. I didn’t get hungry until about 1pm which was a novelty for me because usually I would have eaten my pack up by then, so I enjoyed my tuna pasta and then had my tea around 7pm. I didn’t have my night time tea today because I didn’t fancy pooing through the eye of the needle tonight and that tea contains Senna which is a well known laxative. You take this one every other day so I thought I’d give my body a rest as it is already in shock that I didn’t have ice cream after my meatballs and vegetables for tea.

So far I don’t think this is going to be too hard but what I would suggest is drinking a lot of water as I have felt mega dehydrated all day, and also I would probably add extra exercise to your day just so it has a boost and your not disappointed at the end of it, even if its just an extra ten minutes walking the dog or taking the stairs instead of the lift. Anything extra you do is going to be beneficial.

I’ll update you on how I’m doing next Monday, hopefully I’ll be a size ten toned athlete by then!

North vs South – National Debate?

Posted on May 7, 2017 by OhRochelle

Before I get into the bulk of this North South chat I just need to sa martyn Rochelle London y how much of a fantastic time I had in London. It was mine and Martyn’s first trip away together and it could not have been more perfect! We laughed more than I have ever known anyone laugh. And we spent some really good quality time together. And most of all I’d like to say a massive thank-you for everything he did while we were there! But the topic of this blog is just something that was an underlying theme throughout. Things I noticed, things Martyn noticed, so see what you lot think.

So I understand that all over the world there is divisions within countries but has there ever been such a large divide as the north south divide in England? I’ve just come back from a trip to London and until this trip I never really thought of myself as a ‘Northern girl’. But after this week it turns out I’m a Northern girl through and through.

It all started on our first night. We went to this lovely restaurant and after much consideration I went for… *drum roll please*… Chicken pie and mash. I don’t know why I chose that, I don’t even go that northern back home, there was lots of unusual things I could have chosen but after what felt like 30 hours of travelling I just wanted pie mash and gravy. leicester square

So the food came out and the waitress left the plates and went back to the kitchen. The food looked delicious the pie was golden brown, the vegetables piping hot and seasonal, the mash potato looked creamy and smelt so buttery but I didn’t eat anything straight away, I waited for the waitress to return with the gravy boat. But she didn’t come back. Instead there was a cheese sauce in a little porcelain cup. I looked at Martyn and he looked at me blankly. It was okay for him, his chicken was drowning in barbecue sauce. “Whats up?” I whispered “There’s no gravy?” “So? Just pour the cheese sauce on!”So I did, And it was absolutely fine, it tasted fantastic and I didn’t need gravy but before I started eating I still caught myself muttering “Bloody southerners eating everything dry”

And that wasn’t the only time I said something like that. We were on a shuttle bus to the train station, and chatting away and then when the bus reached the station everyone piled off. We were fairly close to the back so we watched everyone disappear into crowds. As I approached the driver I said “Thank you!” and Martyn followed “Thanks mate”. It was only then we both realised no one else has said thank you? This might seem silly but it really is the norm in my home town to just thank the driver, thank the taxi driver, thank the pilot if I saw him when I left the plane. I couldn’t imagine not saying it.

Also tube stations are weird. We got the Piccadilly line to Kings cross at around half five on Thursday. It was busy, and not like Yates’s on a Friday night busy; it was like trying to get on the last boat on the Titanic busy. There was an urge underground ncy but I tell you what there wasn’t… talking. I was packed on to that train like a sardine in a can my face squashed into the back of a woman’s head and Martyn and I were the only ones talking. It was so quiet that I think I heard someone on the next carriage fart. And they are ALWAYS rushing? I once waited 50 minutes for a bus before deciding it wasn’t coming and ordering a taxi, I watched a woman nearly have a breakdown because she walked into Martyn while running for a tube that comes every two minutes? TWO MINUTES! I think I’m still waiting for a taxi I ordered for a night out two years ago!

I think Martyn, along with all northern men, will agree the biggest difference is the price of alcohol amongst other things. So Martyn spoilt me on this trip and I didn’t want for nothing but even I wasn’t cruel enough to order wine at every restaurant. £6.75 a glass for the wine I drank?? I’d die of dehydration!! A pint of Stella in Wetherspoons in Scunthorpe is (from memory) I think about £2.80ish, a pint of Stella in London is £5.90. How can they warrant a 100% price increase in 180 miles difference? It’s like there is a group of pick pocketers at the Watford Gap preying on poor old northerners! And the house Wine prices? WOW! They give away free papers on the tube (probably another excuse not to talk to anyone) with house prices that scared the living daylights out of me. Granted I pay remarkably less for my rent because of my location compared to cities like Leeds and York etc but I genuinely saw a 1 bed flat in a “desirable” area and this cost £1149 per WEEK! Not month, week!! Are you kidding me? I’d need that free paper as a duvet if I lived in London!

I’m also coming to understand why southerners think all northerners are grumpy tight gits! (oops may be my fault partly) but the differences between the two really is remarkable. I can’t believe we are from the same planet sometimes let alone the same country. I would like to take Northern charm and add it to a Southerners pay packet and I think we will have created the perfect English-person.

New Job Old Favourites!

Posted on April 28, 2017 by OhRochelle

So here we are. The start of my blogging adventure. I’m currently writing this sat in my dressing gown, after drinking what feels like a gallon of coffee, watching car crash TV. Wild start to the bank holiday weekend I know!

I’m sure I will have a lot more to write about next time but for now just to fill you in on where I am.

Today is the end of my first week at the Selby Times. Finally I have a PAID job in journalism and I am absolutely loving it! I can’t actually believe I’m being paid to write.

And then obviously because I have worked so hard this week I deserve a little trip right? Well maybe not but it’s happening! Going to London with Martyn to do a bit of sightseeing and more importantly going to the Warner Bros Making of Harry Potter tour. I’m beside myself with excitement. I mean I don’t want to make myself sound like a geek but I am probably the worlds biggest Harry Potter fan.

Martyn does not like Harry Potter at all but I’m slowly repaying the favour by watching all of the James Bond films from start to finish. So far I’m three films in and guess what? The bad guy gets caught, James Bond hooks up with another girl and saves the day… eventually.

Anyway, I’m pretty sure this is going to have bored the pants off most of you so I’m going to bid you all goodnight and swap this coffee for a glass of wine. And just so those of you that know me don’t think I’m trying to be something I’m not the wine was opened about 3 months ago and I’m 90% sure that it has gone off.

Sweet dreams xx

Rochelle Hughes

Trying to blag and blog my way through my twenties