Whilst this new venture will have me facing completely new challenges, I can’t help but think my time working on the Echo and Branded will transfer to this new venture.Besides benefiting from an environment that allowed me to experiment, explore and grow, one of the best things I found about working on these publications was the number of people it brought me into contact with.
While this has undoubtedly bolstered my interpersonal skills, which will be invaluable in my new profession, I certainly took more for these encounters than the opportunity to develop my patter. During the last five and a half years I have met hundreds, if not thousands, of south Edinburgh residents and I never ceased to be surprised by how open and welcoming so many of you have been. I have met some truly brilliant people over the years and none more engaging or challenging than the young people I worked with on Branded.
I have to admit that some of them were a chore to work with but the majority were a delight and I always felt a sense of achievement when one of them showed that they were obviously proud of the work I’d assisted them with. More importantly, I discovered that the majority of young people have something to offer their community but that it’s often up to adults to help them realise this potential without being patronising. Not an easy task, I admit, but I’m pleased to see that certain organisations and individuals are continuing to work in this vein.I know that I’m not going to miss the daily commute from Dalry to Gilmerton, the late night board meetings and the squabbles with design clients but I am already missing working in south Edinburgh. I’ve seen and experienced things in the last five and a half years that would have otherwise passed me by and I would like to sign off by thanking all the people across south Edinburgh who helped make this an interesting and enjoyable time.
Thank you and all the best.
Richard Biggs