GO venues comments

By Marged Richards who, when she isn’t helping at GO events as an event leader, is a freelance journalist.

"Freelance journalism can be a lonely life. Most days are spent at my desk obsessively clicking Send/Receive for messages from the outside world. But by nature I’m not a 9 to 5er, and love being totally in control of my day. Several regular jobs include reviewing restaurants for toptable.co.uk, but most of my time is spent persuading faceless editors to commission me to write features.

Out of the blue a PR friend invites me for an all-expenses day at the Oval. But my cricket knowledge starts and stops at a wicket, I wail. This, it seems, is the point. English National Cricket is attempting to attract more female spectators to the game, so they wine and dine a group of journalists in the hope that we will write about our experience.

What a wonderful day it turns out to be. England may be beating the West Indies, but we’re more interested in arguing over who the most handsome player is in the test match brochure. The decision is unanimous – fellow Welshie, Steve Jones, is our man of the match. Shame he isn’t playing today.

The sun shines, the Pimms is poured, and the many, many men behave impeccably. What a civilised game this is. There’s none of that thuggish chanting and swearing prevalent at football matches. I’d definitely come back.

To meet a Monday deadline, I spend the weekend rewriting 1,200 words on eating out organically for the Independent. Hours spent speaking to the movement’s pioneers leave me filled with respect for their dedication and vision. There may only be 34 certified organic eateries in the UK, but this is just the beginning. Applications for certification by the Soil Association – the leading and most trusted certifying body – have doubled in the last year. Meanwhile at Sainsbury’s, £4.7 million worth of food flies off the organic aisles every week. I’m gladdened that as a nation we are rejecting industrialised food, its additives, carcinogens and long food chains, for produce that is far kinder to our wellbeing and our world.

I return from a break in west Wales to be offered interviews with Elaine Page for the Saturday Times, and Mackenzie Crook (the TA-obsessed geek in The Office) for Now magazine. Requests for celebrity interviews are frequently rejected. But sometimes, just sometimes, an agent says yes. So pleased am I to have secured two commissions with high profile publications in a single morning that I allow myself a little celebratory sunbathing.

I’ve just checked my voicemail. It’s a travel PR wondering whether I’d like a four-day trip to Bermuda next month. What do you think the answer is?"

Fancy a job in the charity sector?
(By the ex-volunteer!)

Many people are interested in moving their careers into the charity sector.  This could be for a variety of reasons, e.g being able to work for something they really believe in, or wanting to make a real positive difference to people's lives.

However if you are already in a full-time job, it may be impractical to get the voluntary experience that is often essential to secure employment in the charity sector.  But by becoming a volunteer with GO London, you can still work and get your experience at the same time, as all events are at the weekend and there is no long term commitment.

I myself, (Dhush Selvarajah) became a volunteer in February 2004, and then soon afterwards an Event Leader.  When the position of GO London project co-ordinator became vacant in 2005, I eagerly applied and got the job!

Other volunteers have gone on to work for various parlimentary groups, local charities as well as the legal sector which deals with charitable causes.  So being a volunteer with GO London could give you that invaluable experience to help your career ambitions.

Venue profile

GO works with a variety of community projects across the city, from adventure playgrounds to parks to community centres. At all the GO events a member of staff from the venue is there to help coordinate the day and let you know more about the project. Volunteers regularly ask venue staff how they got into their jobs here, so here's some answers!

I've been told that some of you may be interested in how I achieved a career in nature conservation. I've been interested in nature and the outdoors since I could walk, one of my first memories is digging in a sand pit that always seemed to exist in out garden because my Dad was eternally building stuff in our house, and from this sand pit I would extract fly pupas and place them in jars waiting for them to hatch. I also spent much of my youth falling in ponds trying to retrieve the wildlife. If it wasn't for ponds I don't think I'd be doing what I'm doing today. 

My interest in the outdoors was encouraged from an early age by teachers and my parents which enabled me to identify a route for working in nature conservation. This involved getting GCSE's, A Levels and a university BSc Hons degree in Environmental Biology. After completing my education I volunteered with a charity called the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV) who taught me how to apply my degree practically out in the field. 

I was with BTCV for 9 months and I then got my first paid conservation job as a Countryside Officer down in rural Kent working on the Kent Side of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). I was there for two years, and then I got my current position here in east London. The main role of my job is to involve people in Nature Conservation through a wide variety of activities such as practical projects, guided walks, environmental education, survey work and open days. 

If you would like to find out more, or book to go on a bat walks please  contact me on 07904 186 981 or ken@mudchute.org. 

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