So - I have taken the plunge into the world of podcasting. As a journalist and broadcaster, the whole point, and fun, of the job was always to meet interesting people, and hear their stories at first hand. My frustration as a TV journalist was always that the format restrained me to just two or three minutes - and often some of the most interesting, insightful and most meaningful moments were never broadcast as a result. Now I can rectify that, by posting my interviews complete and uncut.
It means that the conversations are a bit longer - 45 minutes - an hour - even more - but it's when you get into a long conversation with someone that the most interesting stuff comes out.
My first podcast is with a hugely successful Kent based businessman called Mark Quinn - whose property development company - Quinn Estates - has been involved in some huge deals recently, involving building hundreds, sometimes thousands of homes on new sites. While everyone wants a lovely home to live in - many people are reluctant to have a new home built next door to them - which can bring some negative press on occasion. I ask Mark about this - and how he squares his desire to grow his business with his desire to protect the environment for his young children to grow up in.
As well as his thoughts on the best way to run a business, we talk about the potential impact of Brexit, what might happen to London post lockdown, with many companies potentially making a permanent shift to many of their staff working from home - and we talk about his journey from being the son of a carpenter and a nurse, living in a caravan as his parents pursued their dreams of creating a business - to being a hugely successful businessman in his own right.
But it could easily have been very different - as a teenager he was one of Britain's top skiers - and he could easily have ended up living the life of a ski bum in the French Alps!
It is a really interesting conversation with a unique character - I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed talking with him.
All the best
Rob :)