Archive for: Media Database

‘One of the biggest joys of blogging is that you don’t have to confine yourself to a specific niche,’ says Tim Liew, the blogger behind Slouching Towards Thatcham. Having written about sport and covered TV for the Metro, Tim is a master of many niches. What he’s focusing on at the moment? Keeping a complete record of his time as a father of three children.

How did you originally get started with writing about parenting?

I’d been writing a sports blog for a year, so starting another one to record my experiences as a first-time dad seemed like a natural progression. I drafted half a dozen posts but didn’t publish anything until nearly a year after Isaac was born. Oops.

Anyhow, 12 years later I’m still going and have an almost complete record of my time as a father of one, two and now three kids. I still kick myself for those missing ten months, though.

What’s your favourite thing to post about and why?

Anything and everything, as long as it’s something I’m passionate about. One of the biggest joys of blogging is that you don’t have to confine yourself to a specific niche. Over the years, I’ve written about much more than fatherhood. I’ve published and performed parody songs, and written about topics as diverse as politics, social media and TV (I wrote TV reviews for the Metro for three years).

I’m starting to dabble more in current affairs now. Not because I have anything unique to say – quite the opposite, in fact. I write from the standpoint of an ordinary dad, wondering how to make sense of the world for his children. Ever since I became a dad, my world-view has been skewed by thoughts of how what we do today will impact our children tomorrow.

How have you had to change your approach to blogging, or your content, during the COVID-19 crisis?

It’s been quite an organic change, in truth. Obviously, there have been fewer opportunities to write about things we’d normally be doing outside of the house. Instead, I’ve been writing a series of ‘Life Under Lockdown’ diary-style posts. This has been such a unique period in all our lives that I wanted to capture what it’s been like to live through it. How it’s felt to self-isolate. Our thoughts and fears. The adjustments we’ve had to make and the unexpected upsides.

History will record the major events of the pandemic for posterity; I wanted to capture our day-to-day reality. I hope that one day we will be able to re-read these posts and remember the minutiae of these times.

How will lockdown have changed the way those co-parenting view their family duties and how they share responsibilities? Will we see more men embracing being stay at home dads?

Maybe. Maybe not. If nothing else, the past three months have shown working dads like me that it’s possible to do things in a different way.

For me, lockdown has meant working at home in a house with five people all competing for the wifi. That has been … challenging. It has been harder on my wife, who works in the dining room while I’m closeted away in the study on video calls most of the day. Consequently, she’s the first person the kids turn to when they’re bored or need help with something.

It’s left me with this strange feeling of ‘working parent guilt’. My work day is essentially unchanged, just in a different location. But I also have a lot more opportunity to interact with my kids during the day. I didn’t have that before, and while I do what I can to help out, I know it’s neither enough nor as much as I’d like to. It gnaws at me.

What is definitely different is that I have more time with the kids outside of working hours, which has been wonderful. We eat dinner together on weeknights, which never used to happen. Now that lockdown has eased, they often join me on walks where we can share what we’ve been up to or what we have planned.

I feel like I’m a bigger part of their day by virtue of being at home more. And while I have no desire to swap being a working dad for being a stay-at-home dad, the last three months have cemented my desire to be more of a work-at-home dad, even after things have returned to normal.

How would you recommend parents currently struggling with working from home with their family duties deal with the difficulties?

Be kind to yourself and cut yourself some slack. You can’t do everything and in this time of enormous change it’s okay to feel overwhelmed and a bit down from time to time.

What has worked for us as a family is an open acceptance that it’s okay to not be okay occasionally. We’ve all had our tired and grumpy days at some point; we’re only human. What we’ve reinforced with our kids is that we’re all in this together, as a family. So everyone has to play their role, whether it’s helping out with household chores or just biting their lip when someone’s having a bad day.

Best no-fuss stress-free family meal for busy times?

On a good day: a barbecue outside in the sun. Otherwise, we’ve made a virtue out of ‘leftover days’ where everyone chips in to prepare a big family fried rice.

How do you collaborate with brands and which kind of brands do you really like working with?

I’ve scaled back on brand work a lot over the past few years so I can afford to be selective. I work best with brands either I or the kids are genuinely passionate about. And the best brands to work with are the ones who are receptive to feedback and ideas rather than insisting that you stay ‘on brief’. Trust that an influencer knows their audience. Don’t stifle their creativity.

For PRs looking to work with you and your blog/website, how would you prefer they approach you and with what kind of content?

It’s simple; I don’t ask for much. Be respectful of my time and value, and do at least a modicum of homework. I don’t expect you to have committed my children’s life history to memory. But my youngest child is eight – it says so on my ‘about’ page – so don’t approach me with baby products. It’s just common courtesy, really.

What other blogs do you check out regularly (whether parenting-related or not)?

I read an eclectic mix of blogs covering everything from social media and business topics to sports and TV.

But in the parenting sphere, I’m drawn towards blogs with stories about experiences that are completely different to my own. So, a few in no particular order: Dad Blog UK (John is a former journalist and PR turned stay-at-home dad), Our Transitional Life (about Kelly, her transgender wife Zoey and their two kids), Daddy & Dad (two dads, two boys) and LesBeMums (two mums, one boy). I love the way each of these opens a window into a life that, ostensibly, is completely different to mine – and yet in many ways oh so familiar. In a world where we are too often encouraged to stay to the mainstream and fear ‘the other’, these are stories that matter.

‘Beer is usually just one thread in a bigger experience and that relationship and connection is something that really fascinates me’ – Look at Brew blogger Rachael Smith likes to look beyond what’s in the bottle when it comes to beer. Originally fascinated by the artwork on the outside, Rachael now aims to cover the full experience of beer; the brewing and the people behind the brand labels.

How did you originally get started with writing about beer?
I’d been a keen beer drinker for a few years, all traditional British stuff, then started to notice a shift. The likes of Beavertown, Camden, The Kernel, Brew by Numbers, etc. were releasing beer styles that I’d not heard of before and often with striking labels which really stood out and marked them as something new and different. I was drawn to the artwork of these new beers so I set up my blog as a way to document them. The blog soon developed and has evolved to be a celebration of all beer and brewing.

What’s your favourite thing to post about and why?
I’m writing more think pieces these days and really trying to use mindfulness in my approach when it comes to how I feel about beers and pubs in particular moments. Beer is usually just one thread in a bigger experience and that relationship and connection is something that really fascinates me so that’s where my interest is currently.

I do reviews as well but have made the decision to move these to Instagram only as that’s how the scene seems to have progressed. People don’t want to read a long review anymore; they’re checking Instagram for a quick commentary and a good photo. I will always try to give honest reviews and point out if improvements can be made – it’s better for everyone instead of just hyping something up, and there’s a lot of hype in beer! I’m a fan of travel pieces and brewery features, too, and enjoy telling the story behind favourite breweries and beers, so that’s something I’d like to do more of.

How have you had to change your approach to blogging, or your content, during the COVID-19 crisis?
I’ve been trying to shine a light on all the local independent brewers doing delivery just to keep afloat. There’s a huge community vibe within the local beer scene and it really feels like folks have rallied to help small businesses during the pandemic. I’ve put a list on the blog of the local brewers and bottle shops offering takeaway or delivery and I’ve been buying direct too, so my Instagram feed has reflected this, also. But generally, anything that I’ve written has been as a result of what is being experienced right now; life during lockdown, missing the pub experience, the beers I’ve been drinking. Even if I’ve had ideas for content not directly influenced by lockdown, I’ve not felt the need to post them – it just hasn’t seemed relevant or important, but as we’re moving towards things easing, that’ll change.

Any particular pubs or bars you’ve really been missing during the lockdown?
Yes, many! In particular is The Surrey Oaks in Newdigate which is a wonderful traditional country pub with a huge beer garden. It is welcoming to families which is a must, with a toddler in tow. They’ve got a great team who serve incredible food, cask and modern keg beers. It’s the moon on a stick and will be my first port of call. In my hometown, Horsham, we’ve got some fantastic pubs too, and an evening spent in The Malt Shovel, Anchor Tap or Frog & Nightgown will be greatly enjoyed when the time comes.

What’s the first beer you ever tried, and do you still drink it occasionally?
I think it was probably a little French or Belgian beer, the kind that comes in little stubby green bottles, cheap as chips (cheaper in fact), from the supermarket. I don’t remember much beer in the house growing up, but there were those in the summer, and I remember Dad would have a bottle after a day in the garden or mowing the lawn. I remember joining him for one after an afternoon of gardening. I haven’t bought any for a long time now but that will have to be rectified!

Any breweries from the past that you wish were still around?
I’ve got to say Hastings Beer Co. The team brewed some incredible saisons and hoppy brown ales. They were definitely ahead of the curve locally in terms of style trends and the quality was there to back it up.

For people who don’t drink, can you recommend a good non-alcoholic beer that still comes close to the taste of the alcoholic version?
Big Drop Lager is excellent and easy to find. I’ve also recently been impressed by West Berks brewery and its Solo pale ale. There are a lot of low and no alcohol beers on the market right now, many of which are really good. It’s an interesting and exciting part of modern beer which is developing at a huge rate and the quality that’s out there is reflecting this.

How do you collaborate with brands and which kinds do you really like working with?
A brand will typically get in touch to ask if I’d like some samples for review or if I’d like to join an event. Some brewers reach out to ask if I’d like a tour. This will then translate into social media posts and if there’s something there that really stands out, or if I’ve been to a brewery for a tour, then I’ll write about my experience and try to tell the story of that place/person/beer. I like working with folks who stay in touch and let me know of any news/new releases, etc. Being personable goes a long way.

For PRs looking to work with you and your blog/website, how would you prefer they approach you and with what kind of content?
I can be contacted via my website or social media channels and I’m open to ideas if a brand wants specific content. If there’s something there that appeals to me, and I think it’s a good for the blog, then happy days. The more info upfront, the better.

What other blogs do you check out regularly (whether beer-related or not)?
Beer Compurgation by Mark Johnson is one I read regularly. Mark blogs about all things beer and pubs (and sometimes chickens) and is well worth following.

I’m also a fan of Boak & Bailey for varied beer related content from tastings, to historical research to think pieces.

Chris Norman of The Ale Album blog is worth a read for anyone who loves music as much as they like beer, as he often pairs beers with albums. The albums always have stunning artwork, too!

Finally, Matt Chinnery aka The Half Pint Gentleman has just updated his blog and it’s a collection of great photos, travel pieces and tasty recipes.

The ‘number 1 dad’ badge goes to Dad Blog UK’s John Adams, our top dad blogger in the UK. Working for change when it comes to getting more men involved in childcare, John has been selected to work with LinkedIn as a Changemaker, and has been getting up at 5am every day since lockdown started to keep up with his childcare and blogging responsibilities.

John shares how he sees the longer-term impact of COVID-19 changing work and parental labour patterns and how else the pandemic has impacted his own schedule, beyond the early alarm calls.

How did you originally get started with writing about parenting?
When I started Dad Blog UK back in 2012, it was to highlight the casual sexism I faced as a man who had given up a career to concentrate on family and home. Unfortunately, I found myself having issues with some healthcare professionals and being accepted by mums was a challenge.

Over time I decided to broaden what I wrote about. Fatherhood and parenting are very much at the core of what I do, but I also write about motoring, men’s grooming, do occasional recipe posts, days out and so on. As time goes on, I am increasingly producing video content as well.

What’s your favourite thing to post about and why?
I really enjoy doing the Q&A series that I introduced last year. This is when I get someone with some interest in family or parenting to answer around ten questions on their specialist subject. A highlight of this series was when I interviewed Ziauddin Yousafzai, better known as ’Malala’s dad’. He’s such a nice man who has dedicated his life to improving educational outcomes for girls. It’s no surprise he raised such a fearless daughter. Ziauddin even sent my daughter a special WhatsApp message when he discovered she was studying Malala’s life at school.

I also like to write about issues that go under the radar. One of my best performing blog posts is one I wrote a couple of years ago about, I kid you not, male thrush. Inspired by this I recently did an interview with a sexual and reproductive health specialist about erectile dysfunction and that, too, has performed well.

How have you had to change your approach to blogging, or your content, during the COVID-19 crisis?
Oh, my word – I have had to change my approach hugely! Firstly, like many mums and dads I have been homeschooling my kids while also working. To fit in content creation, I am having to get up at about 5am every day. I don’t mind admitting that we’re now into month three of living like this and it has become tough.
Secondly, I would usually attend events or meet with people face to face to produce content. All those opportunities vanished overnight so I was left with some significant holes in my editorial schedule.

That said, with two school-aged children, COVID-19 has provided me with plenty of inspiration to write about issues such as schooling, how we have coped with lockdown and also our eldest child’s return to school.

That said, I have noticed that people don’t want to read a constant stream of COVID-related content. That’s quite understandable; I think people want a break from it. One thing I did that’s been enormously successful is to re-introduce a weekly photography blog post. I stopped doing this last year but while on my daily family walks, I would take my camera and post the resulting images to Instagram and my blog. I was reluctant to do this as it felt very retrograde but my visitor stats and feedback from my followers has been so positive the weekly photo post is here to stay for a while longer!

Will we see more men embracing being stay at home dads in the wake of necessary changes to co-parenting schedules during lockdown?
I do not believe we are going to see an increase in the number of stay at home dads because of the COVID-19 crisis. That said, we will almost certainly see a huge upswing in dads working from home and making a greater contribution to childcare and domestic chores. In a very short space of time, flexible and remote working has become normalised.

In addition to this, staff at all levels are having to homeschool and work from home. This has forced employers to wake up and accept the fact many of their employees have caring responsibilities away from the workplace.

We are probably not going to see people working from home five days a week forever. I suspect and hope most people will work from home two or three days a week or in some cases, the office may be a place they visit every fortnight or so. Tech enables us to work this way.

If we can cement these changes, it will hopefully lead to greater gender equality on the home front. The Fatherhood Institute is reporting the amount of childcare men do has rocketed up by almost 60% in just two months. That demonstrates how outdated and rigid our working culture was.

The great thing about being an influencer is that you can use your presence to effect change. I was recently selected to work with LinkedIn as a Changemaker. There are seven of us and we are all working to change the workforce for the better. There’s a mental health Changemaker, diversity and inclusion Changemaker, disability Changemaker and so on.

The focus of my Changemaker campaign is to make flexible working available to all mums, dads and people with caring responsibilities. I’m really proud to be a part of this campaign and I hope it leads to change.

How would you recommend parents currently struggling with working from home with their family duties deal with the difficulties?
First things first – do not even bother trying to replicate what happens at school. You can’t, especially if you are working as well.
As I said previously, I am feeling jaded after almost three months of this. If you need to just take a day off and go to the countryside with the kids for the day, do it.

There is also a point to be made here. This generation of kids are going through something no other generation has done. There’s quite rightly been discussion about the negative mental health impact and their education suffering.

These are all valid points, but these kids are going to have picked up all manner of soft skills and relationship skills. Their formal education may suffer, but informally, they are having a unique and possibly amazing experience. It’ll be interesting to see what the long-term impact is on them.

Best no-fuss stress-free family meal for busy times?
Erm, you’d be surprised how often my kids have been given super noodles for lunch on homeschool days. With fruit to make it balanced, obviously. Perhaps best move on to the next question…

How do you collaborate with brands and which kind of brands do you really like working with?
I collaborate with brands in many ways. I recently started producing content for flexible working website DaddyJobs.co.uk and carer community site FamilyCarersNet.

Sometimes I am asked to produce Instagram Story videos. Other times it may be a detailed blog post, although usually it’s a package of blog post and social media promotion. I have previously acted as a media spokesperson, doing radio days.

As for who I like working with – wow, that’s so hard to answer! As a parenting, family and lifestyle blogger I have broad interests from family tech and flexible working to grocery shopping and family cars. If it’s relevant to me and my audience, I’m interested in it.

For PRs looking to work with you and your blog/website, how would you prefer they approach you and with what kind of content?
Either email me or my agents Leigh Rodda or Kaye Freeman.

So long as the content you want is suitable for a family audience or of interest to parents or carers, then please get in touch. I am very experienced producing written, photographic and video content.

What other blogs do you check out regularly (whether parenting-related or not)?
I hate answering this question! There are so many I want to list but I’m going to draw a line. These are the people whose content I looked at over the past couple of days.

I do enjoy reading fellow Vuelio Top 10 daddy blog Slouching Towards Thatcham, plus Daddy & Dad and Dad’s Delicious Dinners. The Music Fatherhood Football guys are also doing amazing things. From the mums, Jo Middleton’s Slummy Single Mummy is as good as ever.

Over on Instagram, I don’t usually do inspirational stuff, but Adam Cam is brilliant. And TV presenter Nigel Clarke is doing interesting things with his weekly Dadvenger Instagram Lives.

If you have plans for the pub coming up (while staying safely-socially-distanced, of course), grab some quick recommendations for beverages to sup and sample from Beer Insider blogger Glynn Davis – ‘There’s always something new and exciting around the corner, especially now. Beer has never been so interesting and vibrant’.

How did you originally get started with writing about beer/the beer industry?
For ten years, I judged the annual pub awards for The Publican magazine and was then finally asked by the editor that maybe I should write some pieces for them!

What’s your favourite thing to post about and why?
Interviews with people who have an opinion and put forward interesting insights.

Any particular pubs or bars you’re really missing during the lockdown?
The Great Northern Railway Tavern in Hornsey, North London, and the Bohem Tap Room (I co-own Bohem Brewery).

What’s the first beer you ever tried, and do you still drink it occasionally?
Timothy Taylor’s Landlord Bitter. And the first album I bought was Never Mind the Bollocks by the Sex Pistols. Sometimes you just hit the bullseye with the first dart.

Any beers or breweries that have stopped being produced/producing that you wish were still around?
No. There’s always something new and exciting around the corner, especially now. Beer has never been so interesting and vibrant. No need to look back.

For people who don’t drink, can you recommend a good non-alcoholic beer that still comes close to the taste of the alcoholic version?
None. It’s not my cup of tea. Actually, I’d rather have a cup of tea, or coffee.

For PRs looking to work with you and your blog/website, how would you prefer they approach you and with what kind of content?
Email is fine.

What other blogs do you check out regularly (whether beer-related or not)?
None with any great zeal. Certainly no other beer blogs. I spend more time looking at blogs about retail as this is the main subject that I write about. The sister site to Beer Insider is Retail Insider.

Jeremy Williams has been writing about the environment from the age of eight, making him ideally experienced to blog about the topic for The Earthbound Report, one of our top ten Green blogs in the UK.

Read on for more about Jeremy’s focus on ‘solutions journalism’ and how for him, going green isn’t ‘just a lifestyle choice’ but about being on the right side of history.

How did you originally get started with writing about green issues?
I grew up in Madagascar, which is one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots. 80% of the country’s plants and animals are unique, lemurs being the most famous. It also had deforestation, pollution, wildfires and erosion all up-front and very visible. From an early age, I saw wonders and disasters side by side. I remember writing about the environment from about the age of eight.

What’s your favourite thing to post about and why?
I’m part of a movement called ‘solutions journalism’, which aims to report on how people respond to problems as well as the problems themselves – something that’s easily overlooked in the news. If I want to write about an issue, I’ll try to find a person or project that’s solving it and use that as a way in. My favourite things to post are profiles of people or businesses that are doing something extraordinary to solve the world’s biggest problems.

How have you had to change your approach to blogging during the COVID-19 crisis?
I actually asked my readers about this, and their general opinion was that I should carry on as before. They could read about COVID-19 in plenty of other places! I haven’t ignored it, but I haven’t made any great changes to the kind of thing I was posting. It has rather dominated conversation, so it’s been good to set it to one side on the blog.

What are some of the environmental stories/issues happening at the moment that you’d wish more people knew about?
There’s been this explosion of interest in climate change in the last year, which is really exciting. What’s still missing for me is that most people still have it categorised mainly as an environmental issue in their minds. It is, but climate change is caused by the world’s richest people and affects the poorest first, so it’s also a massive injustice. And since the world’s poorest are mainly people of colour, it’s also a racial injustice. It can be hard to talk about sometimes, but ‘going green’ isn’t a lifestyle choice, it’s about being on the right side of history. I wish more people recognised that – and a growing number of people are.

For those who are just getting into greener living, what are three small changes you would recommend people start with?
The two things that will make the biggest difference to our carbon footprints are to eat less meat and fly less. If you can’t imagine giving those things up completely, start with a smaller step – a meat free day, or one flight less a year. Don’t stop there, though! Ramp it up as you gain confidence and discover alternatives. And as a third change, talk about it. There’s a social silence around climate change. It often makes people uncomfortable and defensive, and we need to be brave and have those conversations about how we want to live and what matters to us.

Will the growth of veganism continue?
I think the decline of meat eating will continue, for sure. Full vegan is a high bar and it will never appeal to everybody, so that’s going to plateau at some point. I applaud everyone that makes the choice, but I wouldn’t want people to think that because they couldn’t go 100% vegan, they shouldn’t bother going halfway.

Do you think the ‘VSCO girl’ trend has ultimately been a good or bad thing for the awareness of green issues?
I wore Birkenstocks before they were cool, jus’sayin. I’m wearing some right now. But I am male, in my thirties and bald, so that’s where the overlap between me and the VCSO girls both begins and ends… I suppose there’s a risk that these kinds of trends make green issues into a consumer choice, where we do the right thing when it makes us feel good, and don’t really challenge ourselves on the harder stuff. But it is probably making certain ethical choices normal and aspirational, and that’s a useful contribution.

How do you collaborate with brands and which kind of brands do you really like working with?
The themes of the blog don’t really lend themselves to brand collaborations very well, but I do occasionally run posts on green energy or products. I do lots of book reviews. I don’t run ads or do sponsored posts on the blog, because I value editorial independence. Unfortunately, that means I basically turn away free money on an almost daily basis, which is kind of painful!

For PRs looking to work with you and your blog/website, how would you prefer they approach you and with what kind of content?
Email is easiest. The content I’m most likely to use is new scientific research, campaign launches, innovative green technologies and projects. Other people in the top ten green blogs are covering the lifestyle stuff better than I ever will, so I’m less likely to write about products and services unless they’re doing something groundbreaking.

What other blogs do you check out regularly (whether green-related or not)?
One of my favourites is the Greenpeace investigative blog UnEarthed, and I recently discovered the business facing Future Net Zero. In another life I’d have been an architect, so I love to check out beautiful and ingenious buildings on Inhabitat or ArchDaily.

From grubbing around on allotments as a child to blogging full-time about gardening now she has children of her own, Growing Family’s Catherine Hughes has turned her passion for plants into a career she loves.

With gardening becoming more and more popular as people are getting the most out of going outdoors, Catherine shares which kind of posts are proving most useful for her readers, gardens that inspire her, and whether gnomes should be standing next to your Salvia.

How did you originally get started with writing about gardening?
I’ve always been fascinated by the process of making things grow; I grew up grubbing around on my dad’s allotment, and I’ve been gardening for as long as I can remember. Before having children I worked in brand marketing, but gave up the full-on career to be a full-time mum. This gave me a chance to start a whole new career blogging about my passion. Now I get to combine gardening with my day job, which is pretty amazing!

What’s your favourite thing to post about and why?
Easy gardening projects that you don’t need to be an expert to try and that you can involve the kids in. I firmly believe you don’t have to be a pro to enjoy gardening and I hope my blog inspires people to have a go and have fun in the process.

How have you had to change your approach to blogging during the COVID-19 crisis?
With gardening seeing such a big increase in popularity, I’ve been focusing my writing on topics that appeal to newly-interested gardeners and those who are trying to garden with limited resources. Brand work has been reduced, so I’m working more on SEO and my social channels. I’m also blogging at some odd times of day to fit in around the kids!

What are some small things people can do to change up their gardens/balcony planters/windowsill flowers while on lockdown?
Adding in some summer bedding plants will give things an instant lift, and they’re easy to get hold of from supermarkets and garden centres. You can also make things more interesting in the garden by providing food for wild birds and encouraging them to visit. Having a go at growing your own veg is a great lockdown project, too – I’ve converted one of my garden borders into a vegetable patch this year.

For those just getting into gardening, which essential tools do they need for their kit?
A decent hand trowel, comfortable gardening gloves, and a kneeler pad will all get used every time you garden. Plant pots in various sizes and plant labels are a must if you’re growing seeds; avoid plastic and go for an eco-friendly option if you can. A lightweight handled bucket is brilliant for moving around compost and collecting weeds, but you can improvise on this one if you need to. I’d also add in a spade if you’ve got more than just containers. And you definitely need a watering can to keep those plants happy!

Most beautiful outside space/garden you’ve ever seen?
I have a real soft spot for the Japanese gardens at Newstead Abbey. They’re so precise but luscious at the same time, and there’s something about the contrast between the historic surroundings and the vibe that just works for me. I find something new and inspiring every time I visit.

What are your thoughts on garden gnomes – cute, or creepy?
Definitely creepy – they’ve always given me the shivers. I don’t want eyes watching me in the garden!

How do you collaborate with brands and which kind of brands do you really like working with?
I really enjoy collaborating with brands and regularly work on ambassadorships, sponsored content, reviews, giveaways, guest writing and social media promotion. Home and garden brands are the best fit for my content and audience.

For PRs looking to work with you and your blog/website, how would you prefer they approach you and with what kind of content?
My readers expect and enjoy unique content, so that’s always my aim when working with PRs. I’m always interested in press releases related to my blog’s content as they keep me up-to-date, but I don’t tend to publish them on my blog. A detailed brief is really important; as well as being a professional way to work, it helps avoid misunderstandings and saves lots of time. The best way to contact me is via email.

What other blogs do you check out regularly (whether gardening-related or not)?
There are lots of gardening blogs on my list! The Middle-Sized Garden always has articles that inspire me, Sharpen Your Spades is brilliant for all things grow your own, and Gardens, Weeds & Words is beautifully written with stunning photography. I also love Thrifty Home for great family budgeting tips, and Love Chic Living for fantastic interiors inspiration.