Hello! Today is Monday, yet despite this I am very chipper. I know, how and why? WELL… Today was also the first day of my new job! I don’t want to say too much but I will just say that I already love it and I think I’m going to really enjoy everything. I think…
Philomena with Steve Coogan Q&A @ Duke of York’s, Brighton
“It’s not an extraordinary story.” Perhaps a funny thing to say when it’s coming from the man who wrote, produced and starred in Philomena, and I can’t necessarily say I agree with Steve Coogan having just left a special screening of the film at the Duke of York’s cinema in Brighton where he also appeared…
Moving on up
Hello! I have been spectacularly busy as of late, lots and lots of freelance work to do and a very busy schedule in general. I have also just started playing Civilization V and I’m pretty hooked. LETHAL game. Anyway, the big news in my life is that last week I discovered I have been offered…
I am inconvenienced, but I am ALIVE…
Originally posted on Robinince's Blog:
Something written in the doorway of the delayed train at Platform 4 of Northampton Station. Before I had even reached the station, I knew today’s journey to Birmingham would be sluggish at best. A kindly neighbour had already offered a lift to London after telling me someone had been…
A year with diabetes
Hello! Today marks the first anniversary of my type 1 diabetes diagnosis. It’s funny to think that on this day last year, I was in intensive care and I had no real grasp of what was going on or how my life was going to change forever. I remember looking at the clock at around…
Why I want to be a travel writer
Every single time I tell someone I have trained as a journalist, one of the first questions is always ‘What type of journalism do you want to do?’ I always stumble through some non-committal spiel about wanting to ‘work in magazines’ or ‘write features’, but that’s not really it at all. I love reading news,…
Should bloggers worry about SEO?
Hello! So, as some of you may know, a lot of the work I do has at least something to do with SEO. It is mostly writing SEO-friendly copy that reads naturally and functions as informative, engaging content for websites so that visitors actually find it useful. I always think about the SEO as being…
The disappearing act
Hello! I know, I know, another excuse-laden post about the fact I’ve gone AWOL. I’ve been very busy with all sorts of things recently, so blogging has very much fallen by the wayside! I’ve had some interesting extra little projects going on recently to keep the writing ticking over, and admittedly a lot of non-writing…
Freelance writing: The good, the bad and the unpaid invoices
Despite the fact I only graduated last week, I have been officially working as a freelance writer for six months already, and unofficially for another year or so before that. Lots of people ask me how I find working for myself, and as with everything, there are good and bad things about being freelance. If…
Congraduations!
So, yesterday was what some people would consider ‘the big day’ of a degree – graduation! It was a surprisingly long and tiring day considering it was mostly sitting around, clapping and throwing hats and looking joyous. Mostly I was excited to see everyone again. Graduating felt a little bit irrelevant in a way. Lectures…
If you Wannabe my lover
Hello! As you might be able to tell, I was Friday’s Featured Wannabe in the Wannabe Hacks newsletter. I don’t know why I said ‘killer portfolio’ and I kind of hate the fact I did but aww, look at my little face! The eye operation was a roaring success and now I can see…
Sugardaddie.com: Can money buy love?
“If you are not funny, say so.” Perhaps the strangest piece of advice I have ever heard about filling out your online dating profile. It is, maybe, less surprising when you discover that this little gem comes from John from the management team at Sugardaddie.com, a site dedicated to matching up ‘Sugardaddies’ with ‘Sugarbabes’. A…
A storm’s a-brewin’
Hello! Again, apologies, but this is just a quick one – eyeballs are still playing silly buggers so can’t really look at the screen for long enough to write anything in depth without losing my thread. I promise I have lots of ideas in the pipeline though! The main news is that I appear to…
I’m not a patient, I’m an impatient
Hello, Just a quick one really to fill you in on my hospital appointment as lots of people have asked me how it went. It was a super early appointment and I was the only young patient there so I think everyone felt a bit sorry for me. We all had to be weighed and…
Appointment #8452
Hello, I’m back from Madrid! When I have some spare time and have put my photos on my laptop I’ll write my city review, but for now I can sum it up by saying 44 degree heat, meat and so many chispas. All will become clear, little ones. The title today simply stems from the…
Eye eye sailor, I’m off to Madrid
Hello, Just a quick one to give you a couple of updates. Firstly, I’m off to Madrid at the end of the week until next Wednesday so you won’t be able to enjoy my witty tweets for a few days. I thought I’d let you know so you know to keep yourselves occupied throughout my…
Etiquette: The dying art of good manners?
“Good manners will open doors that the best education cannot.” These were the words of Clarence Thomas, an American Supreme Court Judge. This quote, of course, extols the virtues of etiquette, seen by many as a dying art. But why exactly do people have so little regard for having good manners these days? Few schools…
The Voice UK Series 2 Final: The virtues of being virtuous
The Voice UK came to a surprising end last night with Andrea Begley emerging as victor, triumphing over favourite to win Leah McFall and country crooner Mike Ward. I make no secret of my love for TV shows others would seem facile, irrelevant and a waste of primetime broadcast space. But I don’t want to…
What I’ve learnt from completing a degree
In September 2010, which feels about four million years ago, I started my degree in Linguistics at University College London. In June 2013 (yes, now), I completed my degree. I’ve learnt a lot. I’d like to say that a lot of that is about Linguistics, but that would be a terrible lie. I’m going to…
Kveikur by Sigur Rós review: Once more with feeling
I’m going to say something that’s going to shock you. First I will mitigate what I’m about to say by making sure you’re aware that Sigur Rós is my favourite band and probably always will be. If you put my iPod on shuffle, every other song will be Sigur Rós. If I had to destroy…
Penpals with a prisoner: prisoninmates.com
It’s tricky to explain why I wanted to correspond with a prisoner. A lot of people probably think that prisoners don’t deserve the attention of anyone in the outside world and that they should be left to rot. Well, that’s not me, and I decided to take myself online last year to find a prisoner…
Using Google Maps in journalism
The thing I really love about web journalism is the fact you have all these tools to play with to create a really interactive form of journalism. Don’t get me wrong: I love a physical newspaper, but the things you can do online give it a whole new dimension. For some people, it’s unnecessary embellishment……
Unpaid journalism internships: For or against?
Recently there has been a lot of debate about unpaid internships in the journalism industry. There are good and bad things to be said about them, and most of these points have been covered many times by lots of publications and bloggers. I’ve done a couple myself, and would like to share my opinion with…
School’s out forever
Hello, SO, my time at university is over. There is nothing more I can do. I’m fairly certain about the degree classification I’ll be receiving, blighted by two years of diabolical Syntax results dragging everything else down, but I’m happy with it. The final presentations took place yesterday, including mine. I HATE public speaking, so…
A second finale
Hello! I’ve been up to my eyeballs in work recently. The perils of freelancing I suppose! When I’m not in the office I’m still working pretty flat out. It’s what I’m used to, but fortunately I get to lose a massive burden from my life on Tuesday; the ‘second finale’ I refer to in the…
Internet dating tips from the experts
It’s that time again on Soup du Journalism… we’re back on everyone’s favourite topic, online dating! This time, however, we’re not scrutinising any websites (though watch this space as I have a special one up my sleeve). I’ve been speaking to the people behind some of the biggest online dating sites to find out what…
A Weekend in Paris: A city review
Last weekend, I was fortunate enough to take a trip to Paris with one of my friends, Sia. We found a deal on a voucher website for three nights in a hotel in Nanterre, about 20 minutes outside central Paris on the RER, with Eurostar travel included, so we snapped it off and on Friday…
Happy birthday journalism career!
Hello! A quick one today as I’m snowed under, but a year ago today, on 16th April 2012, I started the NCTJ at Journalist Works. My decision to train as a journalist was the best I ever made and despite the cost, I have no regrets. Everyone agrees that I was right to do it…
Kayleigh Tanner the business
Hello! I’d apologise for my absence but I’m not even sorry this time. I’m in the final few weeks of my degree (ergo, the final few weeks of education forever) and working more than full time hours for my various clients. Yes, clients. Because… this morning I registered as self employed so I am now…
Auti-Sim: The game that shows you how it feels to have autism
“SHUT UP. Why can’t I make it stop?” An interesting thing happened when I started to play Auti-Sim. My browser, laden with tabs upon tabs and massive, complex web pages froze. I couldn’t close it, I couldn’t click anything. Everything on my laptop became unresponsive. Everything, that is, except the cacophony of distant screaming and…
A stressed mess
Hello, Nothing much in the way of journalistic endeavour to report today I’m afraid. I do hope you don’t see this update posts as a cop-out, but why let my boring life stand in the way of a new blog entry? Basically at the moment I am SO STRESSED. I have my final exam EVER…
Why I hate everyone
A student’s purse was stolen in Caffe Nero in Brighton this afternoon. Kayleigh Tanner, 21, noticed it was missing after finding her bag open behind her chair. Miss Tanner said: “It’s disgusting, what is wrong with people? That purse has everything in it and the inconvenience far outweighs the value of the contents.” Police believe…
Sigur Rós at O2 Academy Brixton 07/03/13: A review
The only thing you need to know about me is that my true love in life is Sigur Rós. Icelandic ambient post-rock isn’t for everyone, but they’re perfect for me. This is why, last autumn, I was sat at my computer desperately refreshing as the tickets for their London gigs were released. I booked a…
My pick of the free Brighton Festival events
I WISH I had enough disposable income to attend the entire festival, paid events included, I really do. I love Brighton Festival. However, I’m up to my eyeballs in student debt and I’m realistic about what I can afford. Some people would say that attending an arts festival in your own city is a bit…
Soupe de l’année: A year on
Hello and welcome to post #100 of Soup du Journalism! Incidentally, the weekend just passed saw the first birthday of this blog. Aww! So, to commemorate these two excellent events colliding at once, I’m going to run you through a year in the life of Soup du Journalism and its owner (me). OK, so I…
Best Tips for Public Speaking
Here we have Soup du Journalism’s first ever guest post! Journalists need to be able to speak out in front of people, whether it’s pitching an article or branching out into broadcast journalism, so check out these tips from SdJ’s first guest blogger! From an experienced professional speaker, learn about ways to make sure your…
All about the News
Hello! Well, this blog is on a right old comedown from the day I posted about the journalist’s voice – I suppose this is the problem with creating hit material, right? I jest, of course, but it’s quite the fall from grace – guess which day I posted that: I’ve been working a lot in the…
An exciting development for Soup du Journalism
Hello mes amis! Firstly, I would like to thank you all for reading my last post about the presence of the journalist’s voice in an article. It sparked debate in the comments, on Facebook, on Twitter and in person, which was great! Secondly, I’m pleased to announce that I am opening up Soup du Journalism…
You heard it here first
Hello! Now, as I’m sure you’re all very aware by now, I interviewed Jack Buckby (though at the time he requested that I use a pseudonym for him owing to the massive amount of abuse he was getting about his beliefs). I did my absolute best to maintain a neutral, factual stance on the way I…
Connecting with the world like it’s 1999
Hello! This week has been a technological explosion in Tanner HQ. There are several reasons for this: I have upgraded my phone from a BlackBerry Curve to a Bold. Not a massive leap, but I actually quite like the combination of the keypad and a touchscreen, which makes web browsing a lot easier. Onto this…
Tanner’s top five French films of all time
Bonjour mes amis! I’m off to Paris two months today, so I thought I’d share with you my favourite five French films. So sit back, whack this on for a rather big hint about my number one French film and take notes avec ton stylo… 5. Chocolat Synopsis: Residents of a tiny traditional French…
You are what you eat, which is why I’m a pancake
Hello! I’m only too aware of the fact that my blogging has slowed down significantly recently, and I do apologise for that. However, I have just started a new job, and juggling that and my final year of uni and maintaining some sort of social life keeps me very busy indeed. Today I wrote my…
Why I don’t regret spending nearly £4,000 on my NCTJ
My NCTJ diploma is the most important qualification I will get in my life. GCSEs? Worthless. A levels? Fun, but overwritten by my degree. Degree? Haven’t enjoyed it anywhere near enough to warrant the amount of money I’ve spent on it and the amount of time spent ploughing through essay after endless essay. The NCTJ…
Exciting developments
Hello! The exciting news here is that I am employed! I will be working in Haywards Heath in the realm of internet marketing and SEO, which will involve article writing, blogging and learning the basics of HTML and SEO techniques. I’m very pleased, very excited and very relieved to have a job! I can honestly…
A teenager’s conversion to Christianity: An interview with Leon Ronan
Brighton is often described as ‘the UK’s most godless city’. With more Brightonians than ever choosing not to commit themselves to a religion in the census, with a particular prevalence of non-religious young people, it was somewhat surprising to find out that 18-year old Leon Ronan recently converted to Christianity. “I was always an agnostic,”…
Thierry Mugler’s Alien, Angel and Womanity
As anyone who knows me will be very aware, I walk around in a permanent cloud of my first, and favourite, perfume, Thierry Mugler’s 2005 eau de parfum, Alien. A heady combination of jasmine, amber and woody notes make this a potent potion which is not for the faint-hearted. The deep purple, jewel-like bottle conjures images…
OkCupid vs. BeautifulPeople
Anyone who follows this blog will recall my most popular post to date, about controversial dating website BeautifulPeople, which accepts wannabe members using a voting system based purely on attractiveness. The number of views that post still gets makes it quite obvious that people are endlessly fascinated with this website, and, seemingly, dating websites in…
2012 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: 600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 7,200 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 12 years to get…
The Soup du Journalism 2012 roundup!
Hello and welcome to this very special post where I summarise this soupy, soupy year with a rip-roaring ride through this very blog and the most popular entries since its conception in March! An interview with Sophia Danielsson-Waters: Around the world in not-80 days Let us start with my interview with my friend Sia about…
The post-festivity slump
Hello, This is the only time you’ll hear me say this, but I was very glad to see my blog views slump over Christmas. I’m very reassured to know that I have readers who aren’t glued to their screens all over Christmas and that you switched off and hopefully enjoyed the day! My Christmas was…
Hello Hygge 