I'm extending a warm welcome to Samantha Clarke on my blog today. As well as being the
assistant editor on the fascinating academically researched
non-fiction book, A History of Caludon Castle – The Lords of the
Manor of Caludon she's also a friend and colleague from the good old
days of working at the Coventry Telegraph.
Before chatting about
the book I asked Sam about her career in journalism and whether it
had always been her ambition to go into this line of work. Here's what she said:
“I wanted to be a
journalist from a very early age. My father was a
journalist and he'd tell me all these exciting tales. I also
developed an interest in local news very early on. I remember a
careers talk at school when I was about 11 or 12 and the careers
advisor asked all of us if we knew what we wanted to do. When I told
her I wanted to be a journalist I remember she said: 'What's your
name? I'll look out for you in the Coventry Telegraph in 15 years
time.' I started there 12 years later. I always wondered whether
she did remember my name and look for my by-line.”
Sam worked on the
Coventry Telegraph for many years, in fact we sat two desks apart! I asked her about the best
and worst parts of working there.
“I could highlight so
many 'best parts' I started at the Telegraph at the age of 24,
having previously trained at the Rugby Observer for four years,
working my way up to Deputy Editor. I'm very much a people person and
I believe there is no better profession to get the opportunity to mix
with people from all walks of life. I really enjoyed 'people' stories and have met
such inspiring individuals along the way.
"Over 12 years on newspapers
I covered everything from local fairs to murders and sudden deaths
among children. It sounds morbid but the tragic stories were always
my favourites as without exception, despite prior nerves when
door-knocking, I always received good vibes from people and in a lot
of cases the families would thank me for listening. I almost felt
like I'd helped them to open up and share their grief. I received a
lot of thank you letters along the way and have kept all of them to
this day.
“Also I would argue
that I worked in newspapers during the glory years. I have made some
excellent friends for life along the way. Perhaps contrary to common
belief journalists are a great bunch of people and I had the
privilege of working with some really talented, inspiring
individuals. I still see them now, almost seven years after leaving
the newspaper.”
As for the worst parts,
Sam said, “The worst part - especially when I worked on the Rugby
Observer, which was a weekly newspaper, would be following a good
story over a few days
and preparing it for
the following week's newspaper, only to have certain developments
kill the story before it gets into the press. That was so
frustrating!”
Talking about A History
of Caludon Castle, Sam said, “It is actually my father's book and
had been in the pipeline for many years. It was during his time as a
pupil at Caludon Castle School where
he became fascinated
with this mysterious ruin. Both my father and I grew up in the same
house in the shadows of the castle. He had played in Caludon Park as
a young boy and both he and my grandfather Jack very often took me
there when I was a little girl. As I grew older I too became
fascinated by it but until now little was known about its history as
it wasn't very well documented.
“I became involved in
the book by accident. About three years ago, having watched the book
slowly all come together and hearing my Dad speak of the latest
findings, I asked if I could read it. Perhaps due to my background in
journalism I found myself proof-reading, rather than reading the
book. As I got more into the proof-reading I found it an extremely
enjoyable experience and a real learning curve. I haven't read it
since it's been published but I am looking forward to reading it as a
reader, as opposed to a
proof-reader.”
I suggested to Sam that
it must have taken an awful lot of research. She explained, “The
book was researched by two professional historians – George
Demidowicz and Stephen Johnson. George had been the Building
Conservation Officer for Coventry City Council for over two decades
and
was also the head of
the Conservation and Archaeology Team. Prior to his involvement in
the book George had also been involved in repairs of Caludon's ruins.
Stephen had previously been the Administrator of the Manorial Society
for Great Britain before becoming an independent historical
researcher in 2001.
“The book received
some great support from the Lord Clifford of Chudleigh, whose
ancestors lived at the castle. While the book was being put together
my father, along with George and Stephen, made a number of visits to
Lord Clifford's home - Ugbrooke Park in Devon - where they were
allowed access to historical documents relating to Caludon and dating
back to the 1220s. These were invaluable and took the book to a
whole, exciting new level. I'm not sure how
long George and Stephen worked on the book but I first met them both
back in about 2008 and it was already well underway then.It has been
a real labour of love on all sides.”
Sam reported that the
team behind the publication of the book have been pleasantly
surprised by the way it's been received. “We have received an
excellent response to the book - with demand far
higher than we had
expected. We thought orders would come primarily from
residents who had grown up in the vicinity of Caludon Park but we've
taken orders from all over - including one from New Zealand! The
press showed great interest too with a fantastic feature in the
Coventry
Telegraph and a great
review in the Birmingham Post. We have been delighted with the
response.”
“I had never
edited a book before. It was a real learning curve for me and a
fantastic experience. I went on to create the index as well which
from memory was 2,000 words alone. This was painstaking but again a
great experience which has given me another string to my bow. Since
undertaking the Caludon project I have found a new skill which I
love. I've since joined the SfEP as an Associate Member and am
looking to train as a proof reader / editor. It's very early days but
I can't wait to see what this new chapter may hold.
Read more by following this link:
http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/story-coventrys-calu don-castle-told-6862913
A History of Caludon
Castle - The Lords of the Manor of Caludon.
The book is
academically researched and is the only book solely dedicated to Caludon and its manor
and traces the history from the 1200s through to the present day.
It contains 220 pages,
with 76,000 words and 110 illustrations, with references to Caludon's
links with royalty and William Shakespeare.
The book marks the
fulfilment of John Clarke's lifelong ambition which sought to unravel the
800 year-old history of the castle.
The book received
sponsorship from Shortland Horne Residential Ltd.
Publisher John Edward
Clarke OBE
Author and Editor
George Demidowicz
Co-author Stephen
Johnson
Assistant Editor
Samantha Clarke
To purchase the book,
or for more details contact Century PR on 024 7622 8881.
