A trip back to 1992 via Wales and Birmingham
8th July 2025
Question: what links
my first BBC job at BBC Hereford & Worcester in1992 to the 7.54 from Aberystwyth? 📻
a 5.40am alarm ⏰ during our annual caravan holiday in beautiful (but distinctly unheatwavey) Wales 🏴?
the prompt arrival of that train to Shrewsbury at Welshpool station 🚂 ?
Answer: speaking at the Midlands PR Conference at Birmingham City University.
Thank you to the wonderful Alison Gallagher-Hughes for connecting up those years since we were both child journalists in Herefordshire. And thank you to CIPR Midlands and Nicola Pittaway for the invitation to speak - with BBC Midlands Today presenter Rebecca Wood - about pitching a story for broadcast media 🎤 📺 📱
Becky and I hadn’t met before, but we had lots in common, including colleagues (except she’s much younger than me).
And that wasn’t all. After leaving Wales at dawn and speaking at the public relations conference in the morning, I did some online training in the afternoon. Great to meet for the second time a fabulous broadcaster from the Cayman Islands, one-on-one for two hours, as part of the enjoyable and challenging work I’m doing with the Public Media Alliance. And what a vibrant venue. Thank you Birmingham City University for hospitality and WiFi
What a lovely, generous, collegiate day to quote the apt word used by Alison in her subsequent post about a very special gathering: “It was also the word that Andrew Edwards and I both chose when we were talking about how we worked together more than 30 years ago - different media organisations sharing the same building; on paper competitors but in reality, happily working together to support each other”. Thanks so much Alison for re-making that link and bringing me back to the Midlands after all these years.
It was another day full of ideas, inspiration and connections, old and new. I headed back to Snowdonia from Birmingham New Street station with my head spinning but in a really good way!
If you think I might be able to help with some media advice or you’d like me to speak at, or help host, your conference, I’d love to hear from you: https://www.theandrewedwards.com/contact
