tag:,2008:/691 2008-05-16T15:27:33Z Buckinghamshire Advertiser & Buckinghamshire Advertiser: An Editor's Blog by Julie Voyce. Serving the communities of Chalfont St Peter, Beacosnfield, Gerrards Cross and all the villages in between Movable Type Enterprise 4.21-en tag:editor.buckinghamshireadvertiser.co.uk,2008://225.47041 2008-05-16T15:09:03Z 2008-05-16T15:27:33Z

I do not know Adrian Sudbury, but his is a story I feel my paper must tell. Adrian is a fellow journalist who works for another newspaper within our group. He is a young ambitious reporter and should have the...

Julie Voyce I'm 26 years old and will be dead in a matter of months. I will die from the leukaemia I have been battling for nearly a year and a half. There is only one thing left for me to try and achieve. My dying wish is that everyone reading this will think again about bone marrow donation. In around 75 per cent of cases the procedure is not too dissimilar from giving blood. If more people knew that then the 7,000 children and adults, who are still waiting for a transplant, might have a chance of surviving. As it stands they will die.]]> http://baldyblog.freshblogs.co.uk/2008/05/a_plea_for_more_bone_marrow_do.html#more and the videos showing you what it is like to be a donor. If it wasn't for the kindness and generosity of a 30-year-old woman in Germany I would have died well over a year ago. I suppose it's always nice to be a world first but I was diagnosed with two types of leukaemia in December 2006 – a specific combination the doctors had never seen before. Up until then I was a fit and healthy 25-year-old working for the Huddersfield Examiner. I played football – not particularly well – did boxing training, was a good runner, ate sensibly and didn't smoke. Then for some months I noticed that I was getting regular chest infections and couldn't shift them. Progressively I started to deteriorate. I became increasingly pale and then this chronic fatigue set in. The levels of exhaustion were extreme so much so that I needed to lie down half way through washing the pots. Naturally I went to see the GP only to be told I had a virus. His advice: "Go home, rest, and have a warm drink of honey and lemon." Although this beverage was tasty it did little to alleviate my symptoms. The next day I drove myself into Sheffield's A&E and basically didn't leave. The doctors there realised that something was seriously wrong and referred me up to the specialist haematology ward. It was quite a scary experience. I could see all these "bald-chemo heads" and emaciated figures. The medical teams were talking about taking a bone marrow sample and I knew from that point that leukaemia was the most likely outcome. When the diagnosis was finally made it was heartbreaking for me to see my family. This is something I write about happening to other people – or read in the papers – not something that would ever happen to me. My girlfriend Poppy, my parents and sister, all met with the top consultant who explained my diagnosis and the treatment that would follow. I remember asking: "How long would I have lived if I hadn't driven myself into hospital?" He replied: "Maybe another fortnight – it's hard to tell." I suppose there was no other choice but to crack on with treatment. The doctors were treating me for Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. The first line in the fight against this disease are several cycles of chemotherapy. For some cancers you can come in, receive your chemo, then go home. Leukaemia and other blood cancers are more challenging. The cancer is in your bone marrow; the tissue responsible for making red blood cells and white blood cells. White blood cells form the foundation of your immune system. When the chemo destroys these cells you have to stay on the ward until your immune system regenerates. This can take up to three weeks. During this time you are either incredibly bored or incredibly ill. The chemo itself was awful and I reacted very badly. It often caused me to be sick, it made my mouth and insides burn and left me with a disgusting metallic taste. It was around this time that I decided I wanted to write about my experiences. Just so you know I generally loathe blogs. It seems like if anyone gets ill these days they have to share it with the world. I decided that if I was going to write this blog it would have to be something a bit different and make full use of the multimedia facilities we now have at our disposal. Although it looked as though we were making progress tests showed that the leukaemia was still there and the only option then was to have a bone marrow transplant. Thankfully, as I mentioned before, there was a match for me in Germany. I still can't express adequately how grateful I am for this incredible act of altruism. There are strict anonymity rules governing donation but I would have loved dearly to have met her. The transplant itself is easy – it's just a half hour infusion of cells. It's the five weeks in a special isolation room that's the nightmare. Of course I tried to stay positive but I hated my experiences in there. You are only allowed three visitors and you are constantly tired, feeling ill, sore. Randomly I lost the use of my legs for two days and had to be wheeled into the shower by the nurses – but it wasn't all good fun. I think the hardest aspect for me was that it seemed like the toughest regime outside of Guantanamo Bay. Treatment continued throughout the night and the constant interruptions and sleep deprivation were so hard to deal with. The only positive I could see was that at least journalistically I was doing something original. We had filmed my bone marrow transplant and a number of key stages during my stay in isolation. Finally when those five weeks passed I was safe to come out and come home. It was simply the most incredible feeling. Things then looked like they were improving and on September 11 (I kid you not) I got the double all clear. I was making good progress and aiming to make a full recovery and return to work. Unfortunately another kick in the face was just around the corner. I developed a post-transplant complication called chronic Graft versus Host Disease which left my skin flakier than a flap jack. The only cure for this was a massive dose of steroids. Now despite these drugs expanding my face by approximately eight times, and making me look like an entrant in the World's Strongest Man, they had their plus sides too. I could eat and drink like I used to and had an unnatural amount of energy. After feeling so weak for such a long time this was a most welcome change. During this time Baldy's Blog picked up some major awards too. It won best feature writer at the Yorkshire Press Awards, best online feature from the national Guild of Health Writers and - bizarrely - an international award at the Weblog Awards in Las Vegas. For a pretty difficult year it was great to pick these up and really enjoy the good times that came with them. Christmas came and I proposed to my long-term girlfriend Poppy. She accepted and everyone seemed to be incredibly happy looking forward to a great August wedding. Starting last month my life suddenly and spectacularly derailed. First of all Poppy said she didn't feel the same way about me anymore and wanted out. She left me. I was heartbroken and utterly lost. Then the bone marrow test results showed that the leukaemia had come back big time. A further test confirmed that it was out of control and that further treatment would be unlikely to cure it. My decision was simple. Now I just want to spend as much time with my friends and family as possible - as well as raising a bit of awareness. ]]> tag:editor.buckinghamshireadvertiser.co.uk,2008://225.46401 2008-05-10T11:56:26Z 2008-05-10T11:58:44Z

We are currently having some technical problems with the Examiner site which means the stories that have been uploaded are not showing. I have put some Examiner area stories on the Advertiser website so please have a look there. I...

Julie Voyce We are currently having some technical problems with the Examiner site which means the stories that have been uploaded are not showing. I have put some Examiner area stories on the Advertiser website so please have a look there. I don't know how long this will take to fix, so sorry for the inconvenience and I hope it is up and running as usual soon. tag:editor.buckinghamshireadvertiser.co.uk,2008://225.45766 2008-05-02T10:12:47Z 2008-05-02T10:33:00Z

LAST night, Thursday, I was invited to a meeting to discuss Chesham Museum's plans to move to the former Chapter One book shop site in Chesham. I was really pleased to see that so many people attended, the organiser even...

Julie Voyce www.cheshammuseum.org.uk]]> tag:editor.buckinghamshireadvertiser.co.uk,2008://225.44093 2008-04-11T13:29:30Z 2008-04-14T08:56:05Z

THIS year the Examiner is again supporting the Chesham Mayoral Awards. The annual awards allow people in Chesham to nominate who they thinks should win the youth award, business award and people's award. On Wednesday evening a group of us...

Julie Voyce THIS year the Examiner is again supporting the Chesham Mayoral Awards. The annual awards allow people in Chesham to nominate who they thinks should win the youth award, business award and people's award. On Wednesday evening a group of us got together at the Town Hall to go through the nominations and pick the winners. It is a ridiculously difficult task, but I think we have chosen the right winner. These are due to be announced in May and will obviously be featured in the paper the winners are notified. Sadly Chesham Mayor Merrin Molesworth called for the awards to be scrapped, but she was over-ruled and the awards will be back next year. I think she felt it was a lot of work organising the nominations and encouraging people to enter. I believe it is good for Chesham that we have something like this and I just hope it continues to grow each year, I think this is only the third time the awards have been held. Year on year there have been more nominations as people get to hear about them. Amersham was so impressed by Chesham's effort that they are holding their first Mayoral awards this year, which the Amersham Examiner is sponsoring. The winners of those are due to be announced on May Day. tag:editor.buckinghamshireadvertiser.co.uk,2008://225.42679 2008-03-29T11:23:31Z 2008-03-30T10:34:48Z

Friday was a busy old day. I spent most of the morning trying to finalise details of a fantastic competition that we are going to run in our wedding magazine I Do next month. So far we have a £1,000...

Julie Voyce Friday was a busy old day. I spent most of the morning trying to finalise details of a fantastic competition that we are going to run in our wedding magazine I Do next month. So far we have a £1,000 wedding dress to give away along with flowers, holiday vouchers, beauty treatments for the bride and free suit hire for the groom. If you are getting married in 2009 make sure you don't miss the magazine, which is free within the papers. The winners will be the couple crowned Bucks bride and groom on 2009 and readers will get their chance to vote on who they think should win. I was then invited along to The Elgiva in Chesham to meet with the manager Mark Barnes and PR Tina Humphries. The papers sponsor the pantomime each year so we were mainly discussing how things were going with that and what we need to arrange this year. Amazing to think you have to have these discussions in March! Mark tells me they have already sold out on six performances! My inbox was full of emails when I returned to the office and I would say 80 per cent of them were about potholes. It seems that everyone has a story to tell and a pothole to report. The state of the roads in this area is ridiculous and I just hope the council do actually spend their £3.25m wisely and don't just bodge the repairs so we are in the same situation next year. tag:editor.buckinghamshireadvertiser.co.uk,2008://225.42384 2008-03-26T15:11:55Z 2008-03-26T15:13:36Z

I had a horrible start to today that. I was driving to work in Chalfont St Peter along the A413 when I was overtaken by a motorbike. Seconds later I saw the driver of the bike thrown in the air...

Julie Voyce I had a horrible start to today that. I was driving to work in Chalfont St Peter along the A413 when I was overtaken by a motorbike. Seconds later I saw the driver of the bike thrown in the air as it appeared he had collided with a bollard in the centre of the road. It was a horrible sight and I was really surprised by my reaction, I just froze. The lady in the car behind me jumped straight out and went to help while I just sat in my car shaking. I have never witnessed a crash before and it has stayed with me all day, I just keep seeing the biker flying though the air. He was lucky he wasn't hit by the car behind him. One of the reporters called the police and ambulance to find out how he was and apparently he escaped with minor injuries. tag:editor.buckinghamshireadvertiser.co.uk,2008://225.41181 2008-03-12T16:06:47Z 2008-03-12T16:18:48Z

I've just returned to the office after putting the papers to bed. It has been a busy old day and wasn't helped by the fact the fire alarm went off just as we were about the send the last...

Julie Voyce I've just returned to the office after putting the papers to bed. It has been a busy old day and wasn't helped by the fact the fire alarm went off just as we were about the send the last couple of pages. Sometimes you can't help but feel everything is against you! Anyway despite all of this I think we have some very strong stories and two of the best papers of the year so far. Since January we have been running a campaign 'Free not Fee' to try and get Chiltern District Council to abandon their plans to introduce parking fee where previously there weren't any. On Tuesday we discovered we have had success in Chalfont St Peter, Chalfont St GIles and Little Chalfont. However the areas where they didn't kick up as much fuss, Amersham and Chesham, are still being looked at for the possibility of introducing fees. As my reporter said "You snooze, you lose". Hopefully these towns will now react. Now I just have to cross my fingers the printers don't send the wrong pages to the wrong paper, which they seem to have managed to do for the last two weeks, thus undoing our hard work!]]> tag:editor.buckinghamshireadvertiser.co.uk,2008://225.40196 2008-02-29T14:22:26Z 2008-02-29T14:32:08Z

The Mr looked a bit pale this morning when we woke up. I had a few things to ask him, he started to shake. It was then that I realised it was February 29 and the poor lad thought I...

Julie Voyce The Mr looked a bit pale this morning when we woke up. I had a few things to ask him, he started to shake. It was then that I realised it was February 29 and the poor lad thought I was about to propose! Over the last few weeks several friends have suggested I pop the question, but it just seems a bit wrong to me. Firstly, if I wanted to ask him to marry me I wouldn't wait to be told what day I could do it. Secondly, if you do the asking what happens about the ring!!! You can hardly ask them and then say, "Right then, let's go get me a diamond". And I'm certainly not intending on buying my own! Another thing is that I am curious as to how he will go about it when the right time comes. Will he go down on bended knee in the middle of Paris or will he simply pop the question after a curry on Saturday night? We'll wait and see, probably a long time too. tag:editor.buckinghamshireadvertiser.co.uk,2008://225.39846 2008-02-26T20:03:53Z 2008-02-26T20:23:46Z

A very distressed lady came into the Advertiser office today. She is heartbroken as she has lost her beloved dog. She was out walking him in Chalfont St Peter and he ran off and hasn't been seen since. Being a...

Julie Voyce A very distressed lady came into the Advertiser office today. She is heartbroken as she has lost her beloved dog. She was out walking him in Chalfont St Peter and he ran off and hasn't been seen since. Being a local community paper based in Chalfont St Peter I agreed to place an item on our website, just in case someone has spotted the little fella. I couldn't believe it when half an hour later someone commented inferring that we shouldn't place such menial news on the site! Someone else has previously said we put too much crime and bad news on the site. Just goes to show you can't please all the people all of the time. I am glad that someone else has placed another comment saying it is local news for local people, they get it at least! tag:editor.buckinghamshireadvertiser.co.uk,2008://225.39434 2008-02-22T12:17:03Z 2008-02-22T12:22:03Z

It seems to me that everytime I spend more than a few minutes with a small person I get ill. After dropping my niece back home last Thursday I started to feel a tickle in the back of my throat....

Julie Voyce It seems to me that everytime I spend more than a few minutes with a small person I get ill. After dropping my niece back home last Thursday I started to feel a tickle in the back of my throat. By Friday I had the start of a cold. I know it's mean, but I'm blaming the child! The cold had really taken hold by Monday and by Tuesday had developed into Man Flu, but I battled on at work. Much to everyone's amusement I have now started to lose my voice, no joke when you have my surname. Already twice today I have had wise cracks, both times after spelling my surname over the telephone. Ho, ho, Julie Voyce without a voice. Save it, I am not in the mood! tag:editor.buckinghamshireadvertiser.co.uk,2008://225.38789 2008-02-15T15:24:37Z 2008-02-15T15:44:10Z

I've just returned to work after taking four days off to look after my niece. Crikey, what an eye opener. I don't have any children of my own and after this week it may be put off for a few...

Julie Voyce I've just returned to work after taking four days off to look after my niece. Crikey, what an eye opener. I don't have any children of my own and after this week it may be put off for a few more years! Now this is nothing against my niece, she is lovely and really good company, but I am just so knackered! These little people just don't stop. From 7.30am when we got up, and that included Sunday much to my horror, until 8pm we were on the go. On Sunday we went to Lowndes Park in Chesham to play on the swings and see the ducks. I had never realised how many people are up and about on a Sunday. It was a beautiful day and the park was packed. The only sad thing to see was all the empty cider and wine bottles that were strewn across the park from the night before. but people didn't really seem to take much notice and obviously weren't put off using the park. I really re-lived my youth and had great fun on the 'death slide' and the swings. We saw for ourselves the scary geese and I was glad we didn't take any bread to feed them as one young mum looked scared to death as the geese surrounded her! On Monday we went to Odds Farm Park which was brilliant. We got to stroke the rabbits and feed the pigs and the goats and we even saw their new addition, a baby lamb. I'm not sure who enjoyed it more, Isabel or me! Tuesday was spent visiting a friend who has small children and we decided to go for lunch to a pub with a soft play area. This was a whole new experience for me. I didn't know such places existed. Total madness. It wasn't the sort of pub lunch I am used to. Every two minutes a small person would run past crying as they had been pushed over or fallen off of something. My friend took delight in laughing at me and my shocked expression. On Wednesday we spent the morning making Valentine's Day cards. I say the morning, but really it was about 30 minutes. All that mess for 30 minutes! Half way through she even asked to go and watch Cbeebies. Why do I bother I asked myself, and realised I was starting to sound like so many of my other friends with children! It's a thankless task this parenting lark! But the small thing made it worth it. The excitement on her face as we took the train back to her home, the big kiss good night and the sleepy smile in the morning when she strolled into my room asking for breakfast and the way she reached for my hand when we watched Jungle Book together. It was fun, but probably the most tiring break I have had. It's great being an auntie and being able to hand the little ones back to their parents. I can't wait for a sleep in on Saturday and I certainly have a new respect for parents, give me a day in the office any time! tag:editor.buckinghamshireadvertiser.co.uk,2008://225.38191 2008-02-11T08:07:09Z 2008-02-11T08:24:01Z

To the person who burgled my sister's house on Saturday, You scum. What sort of a person are you who has the cheek to kick a front door down in the middle of the day? Probably a druggie who has...

Julie Voyce To the person who burgled my sister's house on Saturday, You scum. What sort of a person are you who has the cheek to kick a front door down in the middle of the day? Probably a druggie who has nothing to think about but your next fix. You won't care that you ruined a a weekend when my family were all due to be together for the first time in months. You won't care that your actions left a little girl in tears as her mum and dad had to turn around after a three hour journey and drive back home to identify what was missing from their house. You won't care that they spent that night fearful that you might return and steal more. You won't care that everytime they now leave the house they are thinking they might return to a ransacked house. You won't care because you are scum. And what did you get away with? Some passports and a wallet with 10 Euro in it. But you stole more than that. You have stolen someone's right to feel safe in their own home and added another person to the list of people who think this country is going down the pan. But hey, as long as you have your drugs what does it matter. tag:editor.buckinghamshireadvertiser.co.uk,2008://225.37477 2008-02-02T18:56:23Z 2008-02-02T19:08:13Z

Sorry it has been a while since I posted, nice to know someone is reading though! According to the latest figures we have about 30,000 hits to the sites, which I think is pretty good going. They keep going up...

Julie Voyce Sorry it has been a while since I posted, nice to know someone is reading though! According to the latest figures we have about 30,000 hits to the sites, which I think is pretty good going. They keep going up every month too, so that is reassuring. I've been really busy in the office during January planning the next My First Day at School supplement, out February 14, and interviewing for a new reporter. The new person will replace Sean O'Hare who left just before Christmas. We have the final interviews on Monday so I am hoping to have a better idea by the end of the day as to where we stand. With any luck we should have our new reporter installed in either the Chalfont or Chesham office within the next few weeks, and I for one can't wait! It was a nightmare missing the dead horses story, but I think my team did a fantastic job on the follow-up which we were luckily able to get on the websites. James Gray faces court on Monday for assaulting a police office, but as yet no charges have been made in relation to the RSPCA case. It seems unbelievable to us how long these things take, the RSPCA say it could be up to a year! We also have another case at the moment where three Chesham men are accused of shooting 29 mute swans. They were in court on Thursday but didn't enter any pleas, should be an interesting one to follow as well. tag:editor.buckinghamshireadvertiser.co.uk,2008://225.35342 2008-01-09T19:37:27Z 2008-01-09T21:50:49Z

I imagine that tomorrow I will receive telephone calls as to why we haven't covered the tragic story about scores of horses dying in Hyde Heath. As an editor it is incredibly frustrating when something comes to light just as...

Julie Voyce I imagine that tomorrow I will receive telephone calls as to why we haven't covered the tragic story about scores of horses dying in Hyde Heath. As an editor it is incredibly frustrating when something comes to light just as your paper has passed the deadline, and that is exactly what happened with this story. I had literally just finished reading the last proof and okayed all the pages when the phones started ringing and we became aware that something was going on in the Amersham area. The RSPCA put out a press release at about 2pm, but the details were sketchy and all they would say was that horses had been found dead in the Amersham area. My reporters quickly started phoning around their contacts while my phone was ringing hot from Sky News the BBC and other national newspapers all trying to discover where the tragedy was unfolding. Eventually we managed to get details confirmed at about 3.30pm and were able to upload a story to the web at 3.40pm, far too late for the printed version of the paper. This is where technology will play its part. In years gone by we would have had to wait a whole week until we could cover the story properly. Now with the wonders of the web we will be able to put a more comprehensive story and pictures out on Thursday morning and keep the story updated during the week. For all those people who miss the story being in tomorrow's Examiner I apologise, but believe me no one is more frustrated by the situation than I am. This is a truly sickening story and the people responsible will be named and shamed. I just hope the RSPCA are able to prosecute and that arrests are made soon. Those responsible need to pay for the suffering they have put these poor animals through. tag:editor.buckinghamshireadvertiser.co.uk,2008://225.34950 2008-01-04T17:21:10Z 2008-01-04T17:25:25Z

After finally realising that I couldn't stretch the Christmas food any further I had to go to Tesco yesterday. As expected all the Christmas cards etc were on offer, but nestled on a shelf in between is a section called...

Julie Voyce After finally realising that I couldn't stretch the Christmas food any further I had to go to Tesco yesterday. As expected all the Christmas cards etc were on offer, but nestled on a shelf in between is a section called Easter treats! I couldn't believe it, they haven't even cleared the Christmas goodies away yet and they are forcing Easter on us. Now I know Easter is early this year, but surely January 3 is a bit ridiculous to start trying to get us to buy more chocolate!