I'm sitting in 27 degree heat on top of Hampstead Heath researching my next interview: a sit down with Princess Diana's former bodyguard Ken Wharfe. I've just been for a swim in the ladies pond - but it's too nice to go home and work indoors. So I'm perched on a sunny bench reading newspaper articles on my phone and making notes. It's moments like these when I truly realise how lucky I am to be freelance.
I was offered a lot of office based producer work in the first few months of 2018. I happily took it as the start of the year can sometimes be quiet. Plus going out on shoots is far less appealing when you're battling a persistent Beast from the East! But now I'm coming into a period where I feel I can ease off the office work and start working more freely through my Boutique Media House brand.
I've been lucky to be asked to shoot a series of Royal wedding preview films for the Associated Press. These are keeping me busy and proving to be great fun. I'm using my tourism, fashion and luxury contacts to create as much bespoke content as I can find. I’ve been behind the scenes at London's luxury hotels to see their special Royal wedding packages, filmed with florists and cake makers and spent a day at Kate Middleton's hat maker’s workshop. And next week I'm off to Windsor to look at Royal wedding tourism and security - which is where Princess Diana's bodyguard comes in!
I’ve also been putting my travel journalist's hat back on. With a bit more free time this week I've secured a press trip to a country club in Portugal in May and another to Lapland in June, to experience it during the summer and witness the midnight sun.
Freelance life still has its challenges - time management has been a recent bugbear. Every year I find it takes a little while to get back into my stride and adapt to changes within the companies I work for. But by spring there's a new energy and things start to feel fresh and exciting again. Plus we’ve got a Royal wedding to look forward to - and I’d personally like to thank Harry and Meghan for all the extra work it’s generated!