Tour of Britain

Covering the Tour of Britain has been exhilarating and exhausting in equal measure. I began in Bath at the start line, drove to Chinnor Hill to watch the riders struggle up the category 2 king of the mountain climb and ended at the finish line in Hemel Hempstead. At each location I reported live for BBC Radio Oxford. Here's my 3 minute highlights of an exciting stage which was won by the breakaway, leaving Britain's Alex Dowsett in the yellow jersey.
 

listen to ‘Tour of Britain Highlights’ on Audioboo

Rotherham Child Grooming

This week I've been at Westminster to help cover the fallout of the Rotherham child grooming report which found at least 1,400 children were sexually assaulted in the town over a 16 year period. I went to the Home Affairs Select Committee meeting chaired by Keith Vaz MP and have never experienced such a devastating cross-examination. The committee were entirely unconvinced by the evidence given by Shaun Wright (Police and Crime Commissioner), Joyce Thacker (Head of Children's Services in Rotherham) and Med Hughes (former Chief Constable).

BBC Copyright

Scissors Saved!

I'm back covering South Yorkshire for BBC Look North following the end of the Tour de France and recently reported on a very enjoyable story about the resurrection of a traditional Sheffield business thanks to the internet.

One of the only scissors manufacturers in the UK has been saved from closure thanks to a video on the internet that's spread around the world. Two months ago, Ernest Wright and Son in Sheffield was on the verge of closure after a hundred and twelve years in business due to a lack of orders. But that all changed when a video-maker created a short film of what they do and posted it online...


BBC Copyright 

It was a real pleasure to film behind-the-scenes in a factory that's been making scissors for 112 years! I spent three hours shooting there, gathering interviews and lots of different shots of the scissors being made in the process. The beauty of a story like this is that there are plenty of opportunities to capture interesting pictures. I made sure I filmed lots of close-ups of the craftsman, their scissors and machines. Including close-ups not only make for more engaging packages but also mean that it's easier when editing the report e.g. two wider shots of a craftsman edited one after the other can jar especially if the person has moved, while a close-up can be followed with any type of shot so I always get lots of them.