My first splash in journalism...

In creating a portfolio of my written work - a work in progress, especially for a neurodivergent brain! - I was reminded of my first in-print published piece, which was subsequently chosen as our cover story or 'splash'.

I interviewed Dave Stone, founder and MD of Stone Technical Services - a steeplejack! I can remember SO much about the history of this piece. I remember being chosen for it, feeling so very ill-equipped and unskilled, and having the MOST imposter syndrome as I went along to meet Dave... handily one of the nicest businesspeople I ever met.

I remember the hour-long drive home, the whole interview buzzing around in my head, trying to work out what the real crux of it was, worrying about the details... had I asked the right questions, did I have all the dates and times, had I got names and spellings?

And in reality, that wasn't at all the important stuff. The important stuff was my residual feeling, when I came away - what did I remember? I remembered his personality. His authenticity. His values were so strong and so complete, you couldn't fail to see them imprinted on every brick of the building.

I took away that - yes, he was a good boss of a firm of good steeplejacks. But above all, he cared about the people in his business. He cared enthusiastically, and unapologetically. And it's stuck with me ever since.