First draft Idena

The Little Book of
Me


Some of the best stories start at the beginning, others work better with linear deviation. Mine is perhaps one of those.


Jo the writer
I was in Venice several years ago, having dinner in a tiny back street restaurant, where they served the best Vongole I’ve ever tasted. There was an art exhibition on in the city and my now husband had taken me there for a special treat, knowing how I love to spend hours looking at things he considers to no better than recyclable salvage. We were seated in close proximity to a couple from Switzerland, and as we shared a bottle of wine together it transpired that she was exhibiting her pottery in Venice for the first time. She had been creating sculpturesandmakingpotsallherlife,buthadneverhadthetimetodoanythingwiththem. Nowat75,retired, children grown and married, she was proudly exhibiting, ‘by invitation’, firstly in Venice, and then at a number of locations throughout Europe. When she asked what I did, my husband said proudly, “she’s a writer!”. I often think about that evening, we are still in touch with Monika and Nino and she still emails to ask me if my book is finished yet. It isn’t, but she reminds me that anything is possible.
I’m not sure that my husband’s definition of a writer, would match with that found in the Oxford dictionary, but it’s true that I write. A lot. Not always for publication or for general consumption; in fact, I think if I published half the things I write about the people in the village we would be out of business, but I write, because I love writing. The sensation of a pen between my fingers, the smell of a fresh hardback notebook, the outpouring of words, that accompanies the one sided dialogue you create as you tell a story. I love everything about writing, and I think that’s what his definition is based on.
It’s not a coincidence, or if it is, its one of great brilliance, because being a story teller is in my blood. My family had the first bookshop in Cornwall, and started the first newspaper, and I come from generations of Cornish families who loved to tell stories. Mainly in the later years to each other about the size of their lambs or length of their corn, but stories none the less, and I like to think that my career to date, has been built on an ability to listen, regurgitate and convey stories. Like the time I ended up working with Panorama on the closure of Woolworths stores, or found myself wondering around the Cornish Pirates changing rooms with a microphone on boxing day. Then there was the time I managed to get the vice chancellor of Plymouth university to share a stage with an elephant, blindly illustrate an ENT book for a young doctor, oh and raise £22,623.50 in two and a half hours for Children’s Hospice South West. Each of those things only came about because I can tell stories.
I’m sure that one day the book will be finished, but for now I’m ready to take a leaf out of Monika’s book, and do something I’ve always wanted to do, tell stories for a living. Striving to make some more memories, work with some more amazing people and do what I do best, which is create, tell and make stories.


who loves...


Chickens
Cooking
My Family
Music
Gardening


and Is most proud of...
https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/2016/mar/04/remind-me-mr-cameron-what-am-i-trying-to-prevent?CMP=share_btn_tw
writing for the guardian.


Who is totally brilliant at...


playing the saxaphone
(As well as marketing, creative thinking, talking, listening, managing stuff, brand development, learning, business, pitching, social media, ideas, client management, completing a VAT return and growing green tomatoes)


and would really like to work for Indenna.


Jo the accidental landlady
We own an 16 century Inn in South East Cornwall. I say we, it’s my husband’s baby, I just happen to be married to him. The pub itself is probably one of the best pubs in the world – ever. We raise money for charity, we are plastic straw free, in fact almost entirely plastic free, we host a harvest festival for the village and the school children of St Germans, as well as a Christmas carol concert and we generally feed and look after the older folk in the village. We are a community pub, that also happens to be very good at what we do. Keeping beer, cooking sea food and allowing customers to enjoy themselves.
There are good things about being an accidental landlady. Notably free beer, live music on the door step, and fresh crab and lobster just about all season. The rest of the job is a bit like having an endless week, in which your never quite sure if your awake or asleep. I like a challenge, and so far being involved in the development of the business has been one of the hardest jobs I’ve ever undertaken. In 2018 we decided to turn a redundant barn into luxury accommodation, having never project managed a build project before, I think I can say that phrase learning on your feet didn’t even come close to the skills and knowledge I developed over the seven month period. I have made some friends for life, and sadly some acquaintances that I won’t be rushing to work with again. The thing about spending money is that you have to have a way to reaccumulate it, so the longer things take the less money your earning to pay off what you have just spent. I was responsible for clock watching and therefore managing everything; the trades, the interior design, the colours, the furniture, the marketing, even down to the site health and safety, everything stopped and started with me. If that wasn’t enough after a month’s break we purchased the house next door, and had less than six weeks to completely refurbish the house, as well as decorate it. When the beds started arriving, the plumber still had the floor boards up, but it was far easier the second time. Since then I’ve been developing the business website, and our accommodation offer by partnering with bigger companies such as Expedia to extend our reach into Europe and America. I’ve introduced an epos system, which tracks stock as well as sales, developed a social media presence on Facebook and now slowly on Instagram, and I’ve been writing copy for people like Britney ferries and Cornwall living magazine. I’ve become an expert at the VAT return, not to mention a paper work genius, not a bad set of skills to learn from an acciden- tal job!
https://www.rodandlinetideford.co.uk https://en-gb.facebook.com/rodandlinetideford/ https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/262706809/rod-and-line?hl=en


Jo - the other bits
While I was at the university of Marjon Plymouth...
I won the vice chancellors award for innovation twice, as well as the award for collaborative research
I went to America and brokered a relationship with Camp America, so that the programme became part of the university degree curriculum, and as a student you could get credits towards your degree for talking part. I even managed to get the university to sponsor 10 students each year to take part as a part, in order to allow us to keep our social mobility promise.
I rebranded the employability department, to make it student and staff friendly.
Increased the university graduate employability rate to 96.8% from 91% in one year.
I set up a arts café with old maps, a few sheets and some pallets, to celebrate the opening of the first year acting students first play – The Tempest – and Molson Cools provided the beer for free!
I put a wooden shed on campus, and collected peoples stories about their experiences in higher education
I guest lectured weekly on the journalism, marketing and music management degree pathways.
I helped set up a youth parliament.
I started an events company for £50... and sold my shares for a lot more.
I once put a Bentley in the restaurant at Lanhydrock Golf club, and set up a 1950’s picnic inside the boot...
I project managed Cornwall Retail Skills, and we worked with hundreds of retail businesses and individuals all over Cornwall. We even gave away £10,000 once in a merchandising competition.
I hate spiders.


and would still really like to work for Indenna.




©Jo Lake-Jones 2019