Goodbyes and ‘the end’ of things are often sad and difficult events. The last day at school or university, leaving home or a job you enjoyed, the end of a holiday or the demise of a relationship can all be less than happy experiences. I have had to cope with some reasonably tough adjustments in my life over the last wee while. My girlfriend, fellow Orcadian Lizi Pendrey has moved out. I'm pleased to say this is not because of anything I've done, but because she has landed a new job as a Journalist. The only problem is that the job is based in Edinburgh, not in Manchester, which is where I will be relocating to in a couple of months time. This is largely great news as she has been looking for this kind of work for months in London without much luck. However, we've both got used to each others company and we were looking forward to finding a new flat together in Manchester when my job with Radio 5 Live moved North.
I must admit that I wasn't overly keen for her to accept the job to begin with, but after discussing it with Lizi as well as with family and friends, I came to the conclusion that it was probably a good move in the long term. I've been very fortunate that my career has started off pretty well, and I'm very lucky to already be working in the industry that I’d like to succeed in. Lizi has not been so lucky, in fact journalism jobs for university graduates appear to be about as rare as rocking horse manure.
We both think that aged 23, and without wedding rings, kids or a mortgage, now is the time to take some risks in order to try and get our careers onto a good trajectory for the future. It's far from ideal as you can imagine. The distance between Manchester and Edinburgh is over 200 miles, which will take more than 4 hours to drive. Add that to the fact that because of my shifts, we don't often have days off at the same time. Living apart when you've grown used to having someone there all the time is difficult, and it's giving me a greater empathy with folk who's work means they spend prolonged periods of time away from loved ones.
As you’d expect, I’ve have had a fair amount of time to contemplate since Lizi left. I’ve come to the conclusion that I will just have to keep myself busy, and with a bit of luck the next few months of being apart will pass by quite quickly. I’m very fortunate to have a fantastic group of friends around me, many of whom are also in long distance relationships. I also have various other projects outside of work that I’d like to spend more time on.
The main one of these ‘extra curricular’ activities I’m involved in is voiceover work. I’ve been interested in the industry for several years, and as I researched more about it, the more I came to realise that it might be something I could turn my hand to. It’s a notoriously difficult industry to break into because clients tend to find voiceover artists they like, then use them over and over again. It is also a job which has become cool and trendy, thanks to the prominence of voiceover artists like Pete Dickson who’s ‘massive’ voice can be heard introducing the performers on TV shows like the X-Factor and Britains Got Talent. Others include Dave Lamb, who's dry humour spices up the entertainment factor on Channel 4’s hit show ‘Come Dine With Me’, and Mark Halliley, the narrator of ‘The Apprentice’ on BBC One.
Having said this, I have been impersonating teachers, celebrities and politicians since my teens and I like to think I’ve a decent range of voices that I’m fairly good at. (People certainly used to laugh at me at school, but perhaps the less said about that the better.) Anyway, I’ve made a demo featuring many the voices I can do, signed up to several voiceover agency websites and the work has started to come in which is great. I don’t think I’ll be making millions anytime soon, but it’s good fun and if my client list continues to grow at the rate it has been I should make a few quid by Christmas.
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