Feature Teenage student to work for the Queen
The Queen may soon encounter a fresh- faced Newton Rigg horticulture student on quiet strolls around her home at Windsor. Eighteen-year-old Jamie Sessford beat off hundreds of hopefuls for the chance to work in the famous Royal gardens.
“I still can’t quite believe it,” said Jamie who has clinched one of only three paid 12-month work placements offered annually by the Windsor Great Park.
The Savill and Valley Gardens at Windsor are amongst Britain’s greatest horticultural attractions—packed with ornamental species of trees as well as shrubs and flowers.
“I love working outdoors—every day is different and there is so much to know about gardening,” he said. “On my part- time courses at Newton Rigg I’ve gained so much knowledge about everything from plants to soil science.”
Jamie, who lives at Hayton, near Aspatria in West Cumbria, begins his one-year placement at Windsor in September. He impressed Royal gardeners so much with his written application that they invited him down to London for an interview.
“I’ll be working directly to the Royal gardeners and living in a cottage on the estate,” he explained. “It should be an amazing experience and help me with my longer-term ambition of being a self- employed gardener.”
Sheila Todd, horticulture lecturer at the university, praised her young student.
“It’s a fantastic achievement for Jamie who had really come out of his shell since he arrived here two years ago,” she said. “He’s diligent, eager to learn and a wonderful ambassador for the horticulture department at the Newton Rigg campus.”
Lecturer writes novelisation of new hit British film
Scriptwriting lecturer Jim Eldridge has written the novelisation of new hit British movie 4321.
The film was written and directed by Noel Clarke, who also wrote and directed Kidulthood and starred in Dr Who as Mickey Smith. Jim first worked with Noel on the novelisation of his first film Kidulthood as a screenwriter. 4321 is a crime thriller about four girls who find themselves inadvertently embroiled in the aftermath of a diamond heist.
Jim’s own professional writing career spans 37 years. In that time he has had over 500 TV and radio scripts broadcast in the UK and across the world. He has also had over 60 books published in both the UK and internationally. He has created 15 series for BBC TV and radio and for ITV, and worked as a writer on a further 20 other series. He’s also won a number of awards, including Royal Television Society Award for Best Children’s Drama Series and a Writers’ Guild Award for Best Radio Comedy. He has been a part-time lecturer in scriptwriting at the university in Carlisle since 2003.
Jim explains: “I was delighted to be invited to novelise this new movie of Noel’s, especially as it is moving outward from the art-house fraternity into a big commercial release, backed by Universal Pictures.”
The novelisation of 4321, by Noel Clarke and Jim Eldridge is published by Bloomsbury Books and will be released at the same time as the film.
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