What Margot Wrote

I’ve been really lucky to have had my work featured in publications such as Country Living UK Magazine, Period Living, Country and Town House Magazine, The Sunday Times Home, Hampshire Life Magazine and a beautiful quarterly and online seasonal journal Creative Countryside amongst many others.  As a freelance writer I have also worked for brilliant organisations like National Trust, sharing stories about rather marvellous people and places.  The snippets below are just that – stories, features and examples of my work in print and online.  My regular print column in Hampshire Life bears the same name as my blog.

Country Living Magazine – ‘Cured on the Farm’, Country Living UK May 2016 issue – a feature on Hampshire charcuterie from Parsonage Farm with photos by Simon Wheeler

Country and Town House Magazine Hot Shot and Hot Cakes’,  September 2014 issue – a feature on the rise of women only shooting clubs

Quince and apple cheese recipe, Sunday Times Home (web edition) – November 2014 Gardener’s calendar

Tomato and Tapenade tart recipe, Sunday Times Home (web edition) – August 2014 Gardener’s calendar

Strawberry and Lavender jam, The Telegraph Food and Drink – June 2015

Weather Wisdom, Issue 2 of Creative Countryside (print – Winter 2017) as well as entries for CC’s online journal, Lavender for the Soul and Slow Winter Magic 

Hampshire Life

Margot Tries the Good Life’s monthly column (print) can be found in Hampshire Life magazine

Features I have written for Hampshire Life include:

Interviewing Katie Piper on her debut theatre tour, Hampshire Life, May 2018

Afternoon tea with interiors atelier Jane McIntyre and her daughter Hannah, businesswoman and owner of Hannah’s B&B, Hampshire Life March 2018

Chatting to Jane Devonshire, winner of Masterchef 2016 about the challenges of cooking in the Masterchef kitchen, being crowned champion and how it all started as a bit of fun, Hampshire Life, October 2016

Interviewing chef Tom Kerridge on Michelin stars and his love of British produce for Hampshire Life, September 2016

‘Turning the magic of the New Forest into a bestseller’ Interviewing children’s author, Abi Elphinstone on her magical first book The Dreamsnatcher in Hampshire Life, November 2015

‘Where it all started’ Interviewing the Knackered Mother herself, Helen McGinn, author and blogger of The Knackered Mother’s Wine Club in Hampshire Life, August 2015

‘Wine, wit and wisdom’, interviewing BBC’s Saturday Kitchen wine stars, Susie Barrie and Peter Richards about wine (of course) and Winchester’s first Wine Festival, Hampshire Life, January 2015

‘Gin o’clock’, a feature on Bombay Sapphire distillery at Laverstoke Mill and Twisted Nose Gin of Winchester Distillery, a new artisan gin kid on the block, Hampshire Life Magazine November 2014

Country Child Magazine commission me to write features for their magazine regularly and I have also blogged for their website on all that is country and childlike and more besides.

Ain’t no party like a children’s party 

Margot puts out the pot 

School gate fashion faux pas

Period Living Magazine featured my writing as a blog about renovating our 17th century cottage and garden.

Others include

National Farmers’ Union Countryside  magazine covering adventures and general gundog dunce ways with Monty and Dora, our working cocker spaniels.

‘Say it with Cheese’, an interview with Stacey Hedges and Charlotte Spruce from Hampshire Cheeses, Countryside magazine December 2014 issue

Judge for Best Farm Shop in the Hampshire Life Food and Drink Awards 2014 and 2015 

Slow Cooked, a slow cooking challenge with The Happy Foodie and Ebury Publishing, celebrating Miss South’s fantastic new cookbook, Slow Cooked – November 2014

A collection of recipes and take on Rosie Ramsden’s great new cookbook, The Recipe Wheel, in collaboration with Penguin Random House’s The Happy Foodie – July 2014

Dishes straight from the countryside cooking pot in Margot’s Kitchen were also commissioned and featured on CountryWives site.

Radio

 BBC Radio 4’s programme, Bricks and Bubbles, talking about our move from the Big Smoke to the countryside.

BBC Radio Solent’s The Good Life, talking all things game and game cookery with Blackmoor Game and discussing the merits of marvellous marmalade – listen from 01:09:23

BBC Radio Solent’s The Good Life, four consecutive programmes featuring recipes from Margot’s Kitchen including pheasant wrapped in parma ham, venison pie, duck and lentils and roasted figs with quince ice cream (November/December 2015)

BBC Radio Solent’s The Good Life, four consecutive programmes features slow food recipes for gardeners, including coq au vin, spicy beef with chipotle beans, fennel and chorizo stew (February 2016)

Copy writing and editing

I have also written copy for a variety of lovely companies and lifestyle websites including  Garden Trading, Muddy Paws   Life After London and the Smallholder Review and have worked on major projects, editing and writing for organisations such as the National Trust.

Blogging

As a volunteer blogger for National Trust’s London and South East region in 2013, I blogged about getting out and about with Primrose (5) and Poppy (2), enjoying all that the National Trust has to offer and their amazing 50 Things project.  That summer saw my girls and I running round the countryside climbing trees and playing pooh sticks!  Here’s a little example of our adventures – click here

To add to a great first year of blogging, 2013 also saw me as a finalist in Britmums Brilliance in Blogging awards 2013 in the Lifestyle category.  I was also nominated for the MAD Blog Awards for Mums and Dads in 2013 and 2014.

Freelance work

I am always looking for new things to write be it magazine features, blog posts, plain old content writing or product copy and love to be asked to do guest posts.   So if you like what you read and think that you could use a freelance writer like me, then please get in touch with me at margotgoodlife@gmail.com or @Margotgoodlife

(All musings, scribblings and photos are my own work so pretty please, do ask me if you would like to use them)

Let me know what you think