Creative strength

I've wanted to be a advertising copywriter for a long time. I was hooked after my first taste of the industry at London agency DMB&B. Okay, it was work experience, and the meatiest job I had was getting the tea/sugar ratio right for a dozen people at a time, but still – it planted a seed. Every day I would walk into its offices on Buckingham Palace Road, through the smooth sliding doors and enter into a polished glass palace of creativity. I felt like Michael J. Fox in The Secret of My Success. But it wasn't the flashy interiors that sold it. Nope. It was the artworker and copywriter I met, furiously brainstorming in a cluttered little office, that really got me going. I learned quickly that old fashioned creativity doesn't need a palace to make it feel at home. Just a pen, some paper and, in their case, a kilo of Mars bars courtesy of their biggest client would suffice. So when Adam (at Spinach Design – an independent graphic design agency) contacted me about copywriting a few ads for his drinks industry clients and a complete rewrite of his website, I couldn't wait for the feet up, pens out, bouncing of ideas to start. Sadly, no Mars bars were thrown across the room this time as I'm based a few miles away in Spain. Skype, however, ensured that all the convincing gesticulations, head shakes and lengthy 'mmmm, would that really work?' pauses weren't missed out. Let me know what you think of the results. (spinachdesign.com)

The little apple

Just like a method actor lives and breathes a role, I like to go that little bit further for an article. To the right, I am on the way to an upset tummy in the apple orchards of Villaviciosa. Researching a piece on Asturian sidra (cider), I spent a day tasting the full spectrum of near-ripe apples – from eyewateringly bitter to melt-in-the-mouth sweet – and a night in Oviedo knocking it back with the locals. Like the Valencians have their paddy fields and paella as symbols of regional pride, the Asturians have the lush orchards of the Cormarca de la Sidra (literally, Cidershire) and an abundance of sidra to be proud of. The article was a discovery of Las Rutas de las Manzanas y La Sidra (The Cider and Apple Routes) for the easyJet magazine, and an introduction to the wonderfully interactive (read: free drinks and pub games) Museo de la Sidra in Nava. (museodelasidra.com)

Toy story

Little Ibi is the mountainside pueblo with a sweet history. After decades scraping snow from the nearby peaks to make ice cream, the hard-grafting townsfolk turned their mitts to the manufacture of toys in the 1905. And they're still producing truckloads of both today. Obviously a place like this would sound like heaven on earth to most kids, so I wrote a cheery introductory feature for YeahBaby magazine (yeah, really). Lightly skipping over colourful tales of professional espionage, cutthroat competition and mass walkouts from the original three toy factories during Ibi's 'golden age' of toy making, I pointed young travellers to a more wholesome history at the town's Valencian Toy Museum. Packed full of classic toys. it's a refreshingly straightforward museum that lets the fruits of over a hundred years' labour speak for themselves. The article will feature in the December-January issue of YeahBaby magazine (bmibabymagazine.com)

Bloke's eye view

I normally write pretty neutral city guides. Simple little introductions to places I visit that wouldn't exclude too many tastes or budgets. That said, I'm a 28-year-old man. My opinion of a good way to spend time occasionally differs from that of a 42-year-old single mum with kids in tow. But I've never been one to spoon-feed addresses and must-sees. My belief is this: give a man a guidebook and he'll stay on the right track for a day; inspire that man to look around for interesting shit himself and he'll not get lost, bored or flustered for a lifetime. Writing a bloke-centric guide to Las Palmas, then, was a piece I was born to write. With strict instructions to find a few interesting things for lads to do – and without too much boorish ‘stag do’ fodder – I was dispatched by the easyJet magazine to find Gran Canaria’s beating, masculine heart for the November issue. Apologies to all those who feel left out. (ink-live.com/easyjet-inflight-magazine)

Sails assistant

You're looking at an Extreme 40 catamaran. Each one is built using Formula 1 technology, which means they're light enough to hit 70kph and "fly a hull" at a 55 degree angle. Granted, it looks pretty calm judging by the picture but about 3 minutes later my arse was soaked and I was clinging on for dear life. I was trying out the "fifth man" position that sponsors of this year's iShares Cup are making available to VIPs at the start of every race. But this was far from cushy. In fact, it was nautical miles from the kind of wine swilling corporate hospitality I strive for. There's definitely no "I" on a team-driven catamaran and the only thing you'll be swilling is salt water. All my anecdotes about crossing the Bay of Biscay with my grandpa in the late-80s (I was six), were soon left a bit soggy when I failed to move quick enough on the first gybe. The write-up features in the August issue of the easyJet magazine. Have a look at this year's Lake Lugano races to see how nuts this sport can get (isharescup.com)

Tourist industry

I have a fascination with old industrial sites given new use. I like the idea that huge buildings, warehouses and factories can be recycled and presented to a different generation, with a different purpose. Rather than being demolished, which might suggest that the industrial age was a shameful period (re: the environment and labour conditions), these structures endure as proud examples of human endeavour that look ahead to the future. Look at the Tate Modern in London, Trafó in Budapest and Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam, for example. These arts and cultural centres inhabit buildings that were once power stations and gas factories, and the duel attraction is obvious: colossal industrial-era architecture and the cream of contemporary creativity combine industrial history and avant-garde. In Germany's Ruhr Valley this type of refurbishment has been taken to the next level. Over a dozen sites along the former "rust belt of Europe" have been gradually rehabilitated as centres for the arts and activity. You can now watch Björk singing from a smokestack or scuba dive in a flooded gas holder if you want. I wrote a story about the Ruhr's reversal of industry for the August/September issue of WizzIt magazine. (wizzmagazine.com)

Blowing in the wind

Do I look confused? I was. That lady to my left is Iballa Ruano; one half of the Canarian windsurf phenomenon 'The Moreno Twins'. Her sister, Daida, is just out of shot yelling further instructions to me - the windsurfing virgin - so you can imagine how intimidated I felt. Oh, and the 34-times world champion, Björn Dunkerbeck, was doing speed trials in the background. The story was two things: a lesson and interview with two of the best female windsurfers on the planet (I reckon, anyway) and a plug for the last legs of the Professional Windsurfers Association (PWA) World Tour. Gran Canaria was a revelation and the twins were the best company you could have hoped for in such gusty weather. Watch them in action if you don't believe me (morenotwins.com)

Super fly

Yes, it was. Very scary. But probably one of the best experiences of my life. A few of us from my old publishing company headed to Cheltenham to ride with some modern day Barnstormers last Spring. My editor at the time and I replaced the nimble little gymnasts that normally spin around on the wing with a permasmile. Needless to say, we were both static with fear and the smiles came courtesy of G-force. The editor, Piers, would call this type of work 'proper journalism'. (pierstownley.com)

Niece picture

Meet Chloe. Not the finished article yet. More like a work in progress...

Dinoseen

With toes the size of footballs and brains the size of a walnuts, dinosaurs can't have given a fossil where they walked. But for us little people now running things on planet earth, it will always be fascinating to know where they did. So when I heard biologists were dusting off dino footprints in Alpuente, two hours northwest of Valencia city, I put in a call to the mayoress. Thankfully, she was able to pick around my dusty Spanish and find the bones of a question. It must have sounded something like: "Can I want walking with footprints? Thank you!" but she understood perfectly and arranged an unforgettable prehistory lesson to help with my article. It will run in the June issue of the easyJet magazine (www.easyjetinflight.com). If you want to cut out the middle man (or reduce a carbon footprint) organise a visit yourself through Alpuente's Museo Paleontologico (museopaleontologicoalpuente.com)

Rollin' on the river

This was a fun piece to do. Three of us headed down to Valencia's dried-up riverbed (Jardín del Turia) with a picnic and some Easy Rider-style two-wheelers. What else? One of the most unique parks in Europe, this green belt runs for over 8km through the centre of town ending up at the foot of Calatrava's Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias. The super-cheap, super-cool bikes at Ben and Vivekka's Soul Cycles (Barrio del Carmen) made the story, and Gurpal's digital camera made it look good on paper. Wrote it up for this month's easyJet inflight magazine (easyjetinflight.com).

Captain's blog

I hadn't heard of him either, but he's an absolute legend over here. Invented by Victor Mora in the late 1950s, El Capitán Trueno is a 12th-century knight who travels the globe fighting despots and tyrants. Considering Spain was being ruled by one of the latter during the comic's heyday you can imagine how the character represented a more wholesome role model. I wrote an introduction piece for CNN Traveller magazine to flag up the new English-language film adaptation, Thunder Captain, being shot in Spain next year. Have a look what the experts say about him (capitan-trueno.com)