November 1st 2013

An auspicious day today. On November 1st 1993 I began my BBC career. And for all of those 20 years I have worked at the Natural History Unit in Bristol in a variety of jobs. I can remember how I got here. In August 1993 I had just graduated from Newcastle University as a Countryside Manager as a 'mature' graduate of 29. Seems very young looking back. I popped down to the Central Library in South Shields where I had worked for a few years prior to University to have lunch with my ex-colleagues. While waiting for them to arrive I flicked through the New Scientist magazine in the reference library from the 21 August 1993, and there I saw an advert (which I still have) for a Wildbase Assistant. I had the right background so as I didn't have a job, even though it wasn't something I wanted to do, having gone to University to train up to managing agricultural estates, I applied for the experience of job interviews, got an interview (my one and only formal interview in my entire life), got the job £11,400 per annum, and moved the 300+ miles to Bristol (I had to look it up on a map as I had no idea where Bristol was). The rest they say is history.

I remember moving down here. I had an Austin Metro and set off with all my worldly goods in it. I didn't know anyone closer than 80 miles away (my partners parents then lived north of Evesham) and as it was November it was dark by 5pm. Consequently my first week was bizarre, I did feel quite lonely and isolated for the first week, but on the Friday I was asked to dinner by a colleague on the Saturday night. That broke the feeling of being homesick. I had also moved into a lovely B&B in Portbury and became good friends with the family eventually renting an annex of their 15th Century house. And so as with many things in life, plans change and even though this was only meant to be a stop gap job until an Estate Manager role came along, I have never left. Its funny how something which at the time seemed very temporary, can quickly become long term. I've had some wonderful experiences and met some wonderful people, and yes, I do miss never managing an agricultural estate. It was not to be.