This website has had a long gestation period. It was on my to-do list when I left The Scotsman in July 2009. A mere 12 and a half years later, here we are.

Back in 2009, I was more focused on meeting people and getting work. “It will cost money and distract me,” I told myself. When the work starting flowing in, I had a new excuse - “I’m too busy to bother with a website.” So I kept my LinkedIn page well-updated - and concentrated on getting new business, and more business, through existing contacts.

It worked well. I was spinning lots of plates, but 20 years in daily newspapers prepares you well for that. Thankfully, none of the plates have crashed to the ground, despite a few wobbles.Yet I still had a niggle at the back of my mind; what about that website?

I still did nothing about it. I spun the plates, and new business kept coming. The start of the pandemic was really tough, as all my event hosting was cancelled. That had become the core of my business, and the part I enjoyed most, so there were a few weeks of mild terror.

Fortunately, all those events (bar one) re-emerged online and I managed to reinvent myself as an online event host and podcaster. I enjoyed working from home more than I thought and I was busier than ever - yet another reason to put off the website. But late in 2021, I found out my former Scotsman colleague, design guru Ross Russell, had decided to go freelance. I'd talked idly about a website with Ross over the years, but I decided it was finally time to take the plunge.

Why? It just felt like it was time, and I trusted Ross to do it. I wanted someone I knew, someone who would be honest with me and tell me if they thought something wasn’t right, or a bit rubbish. I was also really conscious that I was guilty of battering out work and moving on - not reflecting on it or even keeping a proper record of what I was doing.

So in a way I wanted the website for myself, to remind me of everything I have done. And, of course, I would finally have an online shop window for others to peer into. I hate static websites that are hardly ever (or never) updated. I’ll really try to make sure this website isn't like that - but I’ll keep my regular updates short and sharp.

I'll also share them on social media, like real grown-up media professionals do.

Probably.