For a start I’ve managed to get a job at the Medway Messenger as a trainee reporter. I will start when I finish my university degree.

I know how lucky I am to get a job at the first attempt and I can’t wait to start working on a fantastic news patch.

I am also doing a bit of media work for the Medway Citizens Advice Bureau which deals with a number of issues in the Medway Towns.

At the moment the majority of my time is being taken up by my final year project – a radio documentary on Somerset and its elderly population which could very well make or break my final degree mark. I will post a link to the finished version when it’s all done.

My shorthand is up to 90wpm and I need to up it to 100 to get my NCTJ qualification.

I have started ‘playing’ the guitar, although I’m no Slash just yet.

My ’97 Renault Clio finally bit the dust in December – and gave me burns on my right arm in the process. Now I have got a Ford Escort which is in pretty good shape considering it is 10 years old.

Chelsea continue to blow hot and cold in what has been a frustrating season.

I’m still dreaming of ending the campaign with a Champions League final at Wembley, which is when I will be leaving uni after an enjoyable three years.

Before I started university I remember saying to a friend in the pub one night that it would most probably fly by. That’s exactly what has happened.

Last week I finished my second year studying journalism at the University of Kent.

This time next year I’ll be entering the big wide media world, looking for a job and aiming to ascend to the top of the greasy pole.

It’s a scary, but at the same time enticing, prospect.

For now I can enjoy a little bit of down time (and of course the World Cup), after what was a typically hectic end of term.

The highlight was my two weeks at the Independent.

Admittedly it was a little intimidating walking into a national newsroom for the first time. However, I settled in well and really enjoyed it. On my first day I was sent out to Watford to do some election vox popping and managed to get my name in the paper. Before the week was out I managed to get a few sidebars published.

At the end of the week, after being sent out to do another vox pop for the Independent on Sunday, I was invited to spend my final week there.

While a few of my ideas and articles fell by the wayside, the main story I was given to work on came off. I was tasked with finding Julie Andrews fans and their ‘favourite things’ related to the singer, ahead of her concert at the O2 Arena.

After an initially fruitless search I managed to find, with the help of Andrew Johnson – another reporter on the paper – a dozen or so and got quotes and pictures. The article appeared on pages 12 and 13 and I was absolutely ecstatic.

I was also lucky enough to be picked to work as a stringer on election night for Sky News. I was based down in Medway on the night, covering Gillingham and Rainham, where the incumbent MP Paul Clark had a majority of just 15.

Thanks to a few cans of Relentless, a keen ear and some nimble fingers, I was able to get the result back to Sky News HQ before any of the other media organisations reported it.

Away from the newsroom the football season came to its conclusion, and what a season it was for Chelsea.

Carlo Ancelotti and his players recovered from yet more Champions League heartbreak – this time against Inter Milan – to win the club’s first ever league and cup double – the most successful season in the club’s history.

Along the way I witnessed – and wrote about – some quite sensational games of football – the 2-1 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford, the 7-0 victory at home to Stoke, and of course the game that wrapped up the title – Chelsea 8-0 Wigan.

You can read my thoughts on what was an historic season here.

Now it’s time for some rest and relaxation – with some work experience sandwiched in between – before I return to Kent for my last year at uni.

As part of the online block of my Convergent Journalism module, the Centre for Journalism is having an online newsday on Wednesday (24th February).

Throughout the day we will be adding articles and multimedia content to a custom built website – the CfJ Newswire.

The site isn’t 100% ready, but be sure to check it out on the day for all the latest news, comment and sport.

Any feedback is much appreciated.

This month I began work as a Chelsea Featured Columnist on Bleacher Report.

It entails me producing weekly columns about the team which will be syndicated with websites such as USA Today, Fox Sports, Sports Illustrated and the Telegraph.

You can read my first column here.

The email has caused another political headache for Gordon Brown

When it came to thinking up headlines to describe events at Westminster yesterday, newspaper offices up and down the land were presented with a perfect resource: the weather.

As the snow fell across much of the country, Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt were causing a political sensation with their call for a secret ballot on Gordon Brown’s leadership of the party. The Independent dubbed it ‘The Winter Revolt’ on its front page, while the Guardian ran with ‘Snowstorm mutiny melts’.

Here’s two pieces from those papers that caught my eye as I sheltered myself from the cold:

The emails arrived at 10.24, and a day of political drama and intrigue began – The Independent

Geoff Hoon’s unsent letter and a secret plot to oust Gordon Brown – The Guardian

Around this time of year everyone makes resolutions that they swear they’ll keep: lose weight, join the gym, give up smoking etc. I’m not usually one for New Year’s resolutions but perhaps I should pledge to make mine this: write on here more.

My first term back at uni was hectic to say the least, and combined with my shifts for Goal.com, this place has been left feeling pretty neglected. I’ve currently got a month off and to be perfectly honest I’ve used a fair amount of it to reacquaint myself with a long lost friend – sleep.

My work for Goal continues, the usual Wednesday night news shift has been supplemented with live commentaries of Birmingham v Chelsea (0-0), Aston Villa v Liverpool (0-1) and the shock of the FA Cup Third Round, Manchester United’s 1-0 defeat to old rivals Leeds United. Midweek it’s the Carling Cup Semi Finals and I’ll be providing live updates of Blackburn Rovers against Aston Villa.

I’ve also been catching up on a bit of reading over the holidays. The other week I finished All The President’s Men. A little confusing at first, the book quickly grabbed me and by the end I was left feeling inspired. Speaking of inspired, I was given Harold Evans’ book My Paper Chase for Christmas and have hardly put it down since. Evans’ writing is a joy as he takes you through his illustrious career – from the Ashton-under-Lyne Reporter to the editor’s chair at The Sunday Times. He tells it with a good dose of humour, but also empathy and emotion, such as when discussing his campaign for the victims of the Thalidomide scandal.

In addition, Drew Westen’s The Political Brain and Robert Fisk’s The Great War for Civilisation have bookmarks lodged in them somewhere and are demanding to be finished off.

Uni work is siting on my desk – a presentation on my month at Sky News for the first year students at the Centre for Journalism, a 2,500 word feature and, of course, shorthand practice. That trio will take up a fair chunk of my time before it’s time to make my way back down to Gillingham once again for another term down in Kent.

I’ve currently got a month off from university (I go back on 18th) so I’ve decided to give my somewhat neglected website a bit of attention and add to the portfolio section of the site.

Now you can view some of my work for Goal.com by clicking here.

Happy New Year.

After just under eighteen months writing for Bleacher Report I’ve decided to call it a day.

People clamber over the Berlin Wall, which came down 20 years ago today

BBC journalist Brian Hanrahan was there when the Berlin Wall came down 20 years ago.

In this text piece and accompanying video, he recalls what he saw on that night.

I’ve now got a good number of shifts at Goal.com under my belt and it’s going well so far. I’ve done three shifts writing news for the website. Here’s some of the articles I’ve had published:

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger: Tackles need to be fair as well as firm

Sochaux president Alexandre Lancombe in shock over Charlie Davies accident

Owen Hargreaves desperate to return for Manchester United

Ex-Portsmouth owner Sasha Gaydamak willing to help Sulaiman Al-Fahim sell club

Last night I did my first live commentary. I covered the Fulham v Roma Europa League game at Craven Cottage, which finished up 1-1. A frantic last 20 minutes ensured that I had to think (and type) fast but I enjoyed it.