At the Birdwatch offices

I popped into the offices of Birdwatch in north London last week – I’d never been there before.

I’ve been writing a monthly column, The Political Birder, for Birdwatch more or less since I left the RSPB over four years ago. This is not an activity that will allow me to retire with a full cellar of high quality Rioja on which to fall back, but it is a great pleasure and, I feel, quite a privilege to be able to sound off in the UK’s leading birding magazine.

Although Dominic Mitchell is the founder and editor of the magazine, I am particularly fond of Rebecca Armstrong (to whom I send my copy (almost always on time) for editing) and Heather O’Connor (who sends me money for them) – I’m not sure which of them I like the most, really!

The office is near the main line into Kings Cross and I will have passed it many scores of times when heading in to London to meet ministers or civil servants in a previous life without knowing that I was doing so.

I knew I was on the right track when I saw this sign – Birdwatch would have to be at the centre of the Wood Green Cultural Quarter surely?

 

 

 

The offices are high up in a building known as the Chocolate Factory although I’m told that it used to be a sweet factory making Bassetts Liquorice Allsorts and is just round the corner from Guillemot Place.  A nice lady at Reception asked me where I’d parked my car and I said ‘About 60 miles away yesterday’ which puzzled her before she occupied an ear to ear smile which made my day. Maybe she assumed I must have a car because I was in a suit and tie – Dominic told me that only estate agents and those heading to the Magistrates’ Court wore such things in these parts.

I drank coffee and chatted to Dominic, Rebecca, Heather and Josh (ie distracted them from more important things). Ian and David, the rest of the permanent Chocolate Factory team, weren’t in today. I learned that the office had a window list of 90 species including Honey Buzzard and Great White Egret – pretty impressive!

I also learned that when I send my copy to Rebecca she edits it (but was sweet enough to say she hardly has to do anything to it) and then lays it out for the page in the magazine. Rebecca finds the images too (which are always appropriate and good).

I was there last Thursday, 23 July, when August Birdwatch went on sale in newsagents across the country. Checking my records, I wrote that column and sent it to Rebecca on 21 June. Because this edition has extracts from Inglorious in it, I was liaising with Dominic up until Friday 10 July when the magazine was sent to the printer in Lincolnshire. So from my point of view, this month’s Birdwatch was written in mid-late June, appears in late July and says August on the cover.

The actual pages are printed in 16-page blocks which are then cut and assembled together. Dominic told me that back in 1992 Birdwatch was 48 pages every two months and now it is 96 pages every month.

I may go and have a look at the printers’ operation one day. I think that would be fun.

 

 

 

 

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