took a year out before university, and that turned into five. I did stints at McDonald’s and Pizza Hut that funded a Greyhound adventure around the USA then six months on a Kibbutz and a trip through Egypt. Then there was South America too… oh and I hitch-hiked through Jordan.

So when I finally got to university and found the student magazine was running a travel special I was full of ideas – but I was too late – I was told that the special pull-out section had been scrapped because of exam fever.

So when I finally got to university and found the student magazine was running a travel special I was full of ideas – but I was too late – I was told that the special pull-out section had been scrapped because of exam fever.

“But, I’ve kept notes and I’ve got pictures!” I protested, “I can do it all.” I became travel editor and did – indeed – do it all. A year later the Sheffield City Press won the Guardian Media Award for Best Magazine and a year after that I was a finalist in the Daily Telegraph Young Travel Writer of the Year – fantastic trip to Vietnam.