Back when I
started this blog (8th of December 2009, detail freaks!) I had no
idea where I was heading with it. I liked writing. I was running a Fantasy
Formula 1 competition for friends. I’d moved away from the area I grew up in
just a few years before.
So there it
suddenly was – the gumpyf1 blog. Over time it developed into more than an
outlet for F1-related ramblings, and (after coming 2nd in a
newspaper blogging competition) I wound up writing a weekly column in a
Cumbrian newspaper. Over the course of seven years it increased in size from
500 words to a full page, contracted to 400 words and eventually became a 250-300
‘podium’ thing, with the paper dictating the often-controversial topic.
From
writing about just about anything I liked, in April 2019 I was suddenly being
asked to provide a view on topics like “Would you welcome Donald Trump to the
UK?” and “Was ITV right to cancel Jeremy Kyle?”. A new regime at the paper also
meant the timing of the requests had become irregular, so if I had something on
one evening, I’d find myself having to write hastily late at night or early in
the morning before work to meet their deadline.
Bear in
mind that I wasn’t being paid for this. The final straw came when the latest
request for comment came through – “Does England’s tuition fees rule out
education for all? (sic)” I didn’t particularly have an opinion, and was
irritated not only by the late request, but a complete lack of any feedback
from the paper on anything I had submitted for months – even a thank-you.
I politely
replied to the email wishing the staff at the paper all the best for the future,
and calling it a day.
A lovely
response would have been to receive a reply saying they understood, they were
really sorry to see me go, thanking me for all I’d written for them, with maybe
a follow-up email from the editor too, trying to convince me to carry on.
A poor
response would have been a “That’s a shame – seeya!” email.
What did I get?
Nothing. No reply of any kind. A deafening silence. All that time, all that
effort and they couldn’t even manage to reply.
Disappointed
and disillusioned, I’ve spent the last year regularly thinking I should just
start blogging again, but usually reaching an “Oh, what’s the point?”
conclusion.
Well, one
year on from the ego-deflating experience with The Mail, here I am. It’s highly
likely that no-one will see this, but at least I’ve finally broken my wound-licking
silence.
Anything
interesting happened..?
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