Paul Arnold

Paul Arnold

Writer

For several years I was a guitarist in an incredibly unsuccessful, unsigned pop band. Our gigs were widely ignored by the general public and the record industry remained unimpressed by the five lads who could play Billy Idol's White Wedding in several 'interesting' keys. It was a good idea that I listened to my parents above the din of my amplifier and stick to my studies.

Leaving education with a clutch of qualifications I headed for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and went straight to the top of the organization. I was a filing clerk for many of the senior managers   the Head of Catering, the Head of Stationery and the Head of Finance. My nimble guitar picking fingers made light work of the memos, menus, spreadsheets and leave forms. After nine months I realized I had achieved all I was going to with alpha numerical filing systems so I gently made my way into production and further up the corporate ladder.

During my time at the BBC I produced hundreds of programs in science, news, light entertainment and magazine features. I travelled the world and interviewed celebrated people in many fields - Nobel Prize winners, politicians, film stars and musicians. It was my great fortune and privilege to work on some fantastic shows with some brilliant and highly talented people. This included my time at the world's premier source of science programs   the BBC Radio Science Unit and on one of the BBC's most popular programs, the multi-award winning Newsround.

As much as I love the BBC I was hankering for new challenges and decided to fulfill a dream (that I had so often left on the back burner) of becoming a full-time freelance writer. And as alluring as the rain, wind, sleet, fog and snow of London are, I decided to make a permanent move to my home in Spain   from where I write science, lifestyle, political and business articles for magazines and websites.