You’ve had a remarkable career in journalism, particularly during your years at the BBC. When did you first realise you wanted to work in the media?
From a very young age, really. I started creating my own newspapers when I was about eight years old. My father lent me a typewriter from his office, and I began typing out a little newspaper at my prep school. Later, I edited the school newspaper, and then at university, I helped produce the university magazine.
My father encouraged me all the way, although he hoped I might eventually grow out of it. By the time I finished university, he realised that wasn’t going to happen.
I applied to several training schemes — one with the Thomson Regional Newspapers, which was quite prestigious, and another with the BBC. I didn’t get into either of them. So instead, I applied directly to local papers and got my start at The Weekly News, produced by the Scottish company DC Thomson — the same company that made the comics The Beano and The Dandy. That’s how I started.
Over the years, you must have covered countless major stories. Is there one that stands out most in your memory?
The biggest story I ever covered was the death of Diana Princess of Wales. At the time, I was the BBC’s Media Correspondent, which meant I often handled royal stories that involved the press — the paparazzi, tabloid coverage, and all that. Diana had been a major media figure for years, and the BBC didn’t always want its royal correspondents covering those kinds of stories.
So those stories often came to me. One night, the phone rang around 3 a.m. It was the BBC news desk. They said, “There’s been a car crash. Diana is seriously injured, and Dodi is dead. Can you come in?”
We were on air at 5 a.m., and I joined the royal and political correspondents to discuss what it all meant. I stayed on that story all day, all week, and then into the following one. I stayed on it for another week after Earl Spencer used his funeral address to attack the media as the focus shifted to the role of the press.
Another major one, years later, was the Jimmy Savile scandal, which led to the resignation of the BBC’s Director-General. During my 25 years there, the BBC went through many crises, but those two moments stand out more than any others.
You’re also deeply involved in community life in Chiswick. How did your work with the Bedford Park Festival and the Chiswick Book Festival begin?
I remember the moment when I thought, “Oh, it would be nice to get involved in community affairs”. It was during Queen Elizabeth’s Silver Jubilee in 1977, when there were street parties everywhere, and we’d just moved to Bedford Park. I thought it looked like such fun — a wonderful way to bring a community together.
It wasn’t until years later, around 2000, that I actually became involved. St Michael and All Angels Church, where my wife and I had long been going and my daughter was in the junior choir, launched a major Millennium project to rebuild its church hall. The hall was a lovely old Victorian building, but it needed complete renovation. The project raised about £500,000 to rebuild it.
Once it was done, the vicar and I asked ourselves, “What else can we use this for? How can we make it a hub for the community?” That’s when the idea of a book festival came up. We already had the Bedford Park Festival, where there was a book author evening, so we built on that. We had the church, the volunteers, the enthusiasm, and we thought, “Why not?” Of course, it turned out to be a lot more complicated than we’d imagined, but it has gone better than we ever hoped.
Organising two major festivals sounds like a huge undertaking. How challenging has it been to run both of them?
They’re very different. I ran the Bedford Park Festival for about ten years before stepping down in 2012, though I still handle publicity and sponsorship, which are vital. Both events depend on community spirit, local businesses, and volunteers.
The Bedford Park Festival includes Green Days, which is a huge logistical exercise in itself - getting all those marquees, getting all the bands and so on. But the Book Festival is more intense — it has high-profile authors, multiple events packed into a few days, and lots of coordination with publishers.
The hardest part is finding volunteers willing to be organisers, but without them, none of it would happen. It takes constant effort to find the right people, coordinate them, and keep the energy up. There’s also a huge amount of work behind the scenes — planning and organising — and everything is getting more expensive. But thanks to our authors, sponsors and other supporters, we are still doing well.
We’ve been fortunate to have Jo James as Programme Director for the Book Festival for the past decade. She also works with major book festivals and has wonderful contacts in publishing. With her help, we’ve attracted incredible authors. She’s just stepped down, so next year will bring new challenges, but I’m sure we’ll find our way.
What do you find most rewarding about organising these events?
One of the best bits is the great feedback we get. For the Book Festival, seeing people come together and enjoy themselves — the buzz of the audience, the joy of seeing authors meet readers, everyone is having a wonderful time. That’s the real enjoyment.
Collaboration seems to be a big part of your community work. How important do you think it is to work together locally?
I’ve always felt it’s vital that all of us working in the community help each other rather than compete. Chiswick has so many talented and creative people doing remarkable things, in the arts, the schools, local charities, and businesses, and we all benefit when we collaborate. I’ve never seen it as a competition between festivals or groups. We all share the same goal: to make life in Chiswick better, richer, and more connected.
You’ve mentioned a few ongoing projects. What are some of the new initiatives you’re excited about?
We’re planning a large children’s book event at St Michael’s next March. Lots of the best children’s publishers lived in Chiswick, and we are going to bring them all together. We will get all the schools involved and it will be a great fun.
Another initiative I’m very proud of is the Chiswick Writers’ Trail. It celebrates 36 great writers — 12 poets, 12 novelists, and 12 dramatists — who lived in Chiswick. When we started the Book Festival, I wanted to showcase how significant Chiswick is in the world of literature. Not many people realised just how many extraordinary authors lived here.
We also celebrate Chiswick’s gardens, which I think rival those of Chelsea or Kew. Another passion project of mine is the painting ‘The Royal Garden Party at Chiswick’ which shows Queen Victoria, her family and 300 top people of Europe in the gardens at Chiswick House. I have been campaigning for 10 years to get it put back in the house - and it finally happened this year.
You received an MBE in 2013 for services to the community in Chiswick. Did that change your sense of responsibility to the community?
Yes, it did. It’s a wonderful honour, but it also makes you think, “I need to live up to this.”
Chiswick has grown so much since 2013 with the markets, the restaurants, the cinema, the community events and so on, it is really thriving. And this - and its history - are much more widely recognised. I was delighted when the Wall Street Journal carried the headline ‘Visiting London? Don’t skip Chiswick, a lush paradise that inspired Van Gogh, W.B. Yeats and more’.
Finally, what keeps you motivated to continue giving so much time and energy to these projects? What is your personal drive?
I feel very lucky to live here and I enjoy making the best of where I am. I’m fortunate still to have the energy and enthusiasm to do it. My philosophy is simple: to try to do interesting things and meet interesting people. And everything I’ve done here has allowed me to do exactly that.
