A journalist's return to roots

There's a beautiful symmetry to Taylor's story.

Born in Newbourne, Suffolk to a family of smallholders, her earliest memory is of hoeing lettuces at the tender age of three. While the soil of Suffolk runs deep in her veins, she left for the bright lights of London to pursue a career in journalism.

Starting at Yorkshire Post Newspapers, she went on to become a race relations reporter at Westminster Press in Swindon. From there, her path led through several newspapers and magazines before she established her own news agency.

Her work has been described as 'groundbreaking' by the renowned author and historian Tom Holland, and her latest book, 'Saving Journalism: The Rise, Demise and Survival of the News,' is set for publication in March 2025.

But Taylor's story could have taken a very different path.

After university, she found herself at a crossroads while working as a PA to the landscape director at Notcutts. Her boss offered to train her in landscape work, presenting a young Taylor with a choice between following her heart into horticulture or her head into journalism. Head won out over heart – at least for a while.

Now living in Felixstowe with just a terrace instead of a garden, Taylor has found herself drawn back to the outdoors.

Her return to education isn't just about learning, it's about reconnecting with something fundamental, something she articulates with the precision you would expect of a seasoned writer: "We live in a fast-paced confusing world where everything is coming at us, and we get lost in it. So, I think there is something very true and very honest about working with the soil."

She's embracing this new chapter with enthusiasm, becoming a student member of the Royal Horticultural Society and planning her first visit to the Chelsea Flower Show. While her design wasn't chosen for the college's show garden at this year's Suffolk Show, she's throwing her support behind the selected project with collegiality.

Taylor also sees a strong connection between her career and gardening: "Editing helps you to clarify the truth and that is a bit like hoeing – and both professions are fruitful and creative." It's an apt metaphor from someone who has spent a lifetime cultivating stories and is now cultivating plants.

Taylor's journey reminds us that it's never too late to return to our first loves, to rediscover the passions that shaped our earliest days. In trading deadlines for flower beds, she's not just changing careers - she's coming home.

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