Good morning, good morning, good morning Chit Chat Tuesday readers!! Blimmey it is chilly out there this morning! I hope that you are wrapped up warm and ready for the day ahead!
How on earth are we in December already? Time – you are flying! Before we know it, it will be Christmas and we will be counting down the seconds to 2015 after having one to many margaritas!! It is another busy week in the Circus office this week! We are currently preparing for a kids sample sale at our showroom which starts tomorrow and ends on Friday, a Scotch Shrunk Graffiti event in Manchester Trafford on Saturday and on Thursday I am on an early flight off to Copenhagen to see Soft Gallery!! It’s all happening!
Talking about travelling leads me to introduce this weeks CCT guest!
Please join me in welcoming the editor at Family Traveller magazine Jane Anderson who is as you can imagine a very knowledgeable individual when it comes to travelling! One of my FAVE topics!!
Jane thank you so much for joining both myself and the CCT readers on todays show! Lets start off by you telling us a little bit about yourself…
Hello! My name is Jane Anderson, I live in Dulwich, London and have two beautiful children, Scarlett 10 and Finlay 8. We do a lot of travelling as a family which happily dovetails with my role as Editor of Family Traveller magazine.
Jane
Your kiddies are adorable and your daughter Scarlett looked fab in the Scotch R’belle pieces!! How fab that you get to travel with your family! Can you talk us through your career journey to date…
I’ve been a travel writer for around 20 years (where did the time go!) and have contributed to many publications from national newspapers to women’s glossy magazines. I’ve also written a number of guide books including ‘Brittany with Kids’ published by Footprint Guides. I’m currently Editor of the very lovely bi-monthly magazine, Family Traveller, the only magazine in the UK dedicated to family travel.
Janes Daughter wearing Scotch and Soda.
Time flies when you are having fun though hey? What a nice mix of publications to have worked at! AND you’ve written your own book? Wow that’s amazing! Looks like I need to head down to the nearest book shop! FT is such a lovely magazine and we are so lucky to be able to work and collaborate with you guys! BUT why travel? Is it an area that you have always been interested in?
Like a lot of people, I’ve always wanted to travel. Before I went to university, I had a gap year in Boston working as a nanny. I saved up enough money to drive coast-to-coast and back again with a friend. It was a great adventure aged 18! I got my first job on a small travel magazine. Within a few weeks I was off on press trips to Antigua and Amsterdam and never looked back.
That’s incredible! I au-paired when I was 18 too and it was so much fun!! As you said, it’s such an adventure! Was journalism a career that you always wanted to go in to?
Writing was the only thing that really grabbed me when I was at university. I knew I wasn’t going to make a living from composing poetry, so journalism seemed a good and exciting option. I worked on Leeds Student newspaper and got onto a post grad in journalism at Cardiff University, so it all fell into place.
Leeds is such a fab student city! How did the opportunity at Family Traveller come about?
I have been writing about family travel since my children were born, and am well known as a travel writer and editor. I had worked previously with Rosie Price Smith, digital editor or FamilyTraveller.com, who thought I’d be excellent for the role of editor of Family Traveller magazine!
Aww good ol Rosie! That’s so kind! It always helps when every supports one another doesn’t it? Can you tell us about your role at FT?
My role as editor at Family Traveller magazine is to oversee and shape the bi-monthly title. I commission all the features, and write some of them myself, I manage a team of designers, sub editor and picture editor to layout the magazine. It’s very satisfying to see the magazine come together. Each one has its own distinct personality.
All the hard work from you and your team pays off as it’s a lovely issue! We get so excited every time it arrives at the office! Can you tell us a little bit about FT?
Family Traveller is a unique publication which focuses on how to travel with children from babies to teens. It doesn’t patronise readers and takes the view that parents were well-travelled, independent travellers before having kids and see no reason to give that up when they travel as a family. We try and cater for all budgets and desires.
We cover the entire globe and put a big emphasis on experiential travel, adventure and learning. We also shoot a beautiful fashion story each issue and report on all the latest kids fashion trends. Our fabulous website, familytraveller.com, has a vast amount of family travel inspiration and amazing competitions. We also have shop.familytraveller.com with beautiful items for families from kids’ clothes to play houses and luggage.
It’s great that you cover all areas so that there is something for everyone! Do you get to do a lot of travelling?
I try and take my children away every school holiday so that I keep in touch with family travel and of course give them amazing experiences. We have done some memorable trips this year including Nevis in the Caribbean, motor homing in the French Canadian Province of Quebec, staying in a beautiful house on the River Fal in Cornwall and visiting Finnish Lapland to meet Santa and an array of Arctic animals including polar bears and Arctic foxes which we got to feed!
Wow that’s amazing!! That’s so lovely that you try and go away as much as possible! As you said, you are giving your children amazing experiences and the memories with stay with them forever!! I absolutely love that! So, with all of the travelling that you do what are your travel essentials?
If I’m flying, I always take magazines and a novel to read, moisture cream and lip-gloss and plenty of water. For my kids I would pack paper and drawing pens and books in the hope that they’d put the iPad or iPod down at some point, though I don’t mind them watching films or playing a few games when we fly.
I’m with you on that one! I always pack an extra jumper and pair of socks too as I always seem to get really cold! Where would you recommend we visit – or where are your top 3 destinations and why?
My top three destinations that I would go back to in a heartbeat are St Barts in the Caribbean for its chic French style and gorgeous turquoise sea, Bali in Indonesia, for its gentle Hindu culture and buzzing creative scene and New York which is a city that never loses its edge. On my wish list is Amangiri in Utah and explora in the Atacama Desert.
Bali is one of the places on my wish list! Everyone who has been has just fallen in love! AND For those with kids?
I wouldn’t rule out anywhere for kids, as families can always find interesting things to experience wherever they travel. It’s the experience of different cultures and scenery that’s so inspiring. My best family holidays have been Cornwall for its ease of getting there, great accommodation whether that’s a yurt at the Park at Mawgan Porth or a beautiful house with Milly & Martha and plenty of beach fun and things to do such as cycling the Camel Trail from Padstow or kayaking on the River Fal.
Next issue of Family Traveller Magazine.
As my Mum would say…there is nothing like the British seaside! Where can individuals purchase FT?
The best way to get Family Traveller is to subscribe here. https://subscription.familytraveller.com/checkout?promo=FAMILY25
There’s currently a 25% discount which means six copies a year for just £17.80.
If you were stuck on a desert island and could take 3 things what would you take?
My family (obviously!), all the novels I’ve never got round to reading (is that allowed?!) and a fabulous beach wardrobe!
Brilliant! All about the beach wardrobe! Where is the next hot spot that is on your list to visit?
Disneyland Paris, Ibiza and Myanmar are all on my radar for next year.
IBIZA for definite!! Team Circus is thinking about going on tour and Ibiza is at the top!!
Jane, thank you so much for joining us on CCT today! It has been so lovely having you and getting to hear all about your exciting career to date! I am a huge lover of travel and it’s been great speaking to an expert! The only problem is, is that I want to go and book a holiday!!
Join me next week for lots of gossip and chinwagging! Hugs and kisses Kate xox
