An eye-opener

I had no idea what I was in for when I started working at Tabletalk in June.

I have been on the job for the past four months and while, at times I feel like four months is nothing, I sometimes take a look at my desk where I keep back copies of the papers I’ve worked on (a trick I learned from my colleague, Summer Jacobs) and I can’t help but think it’s crazy that these 20 issues have my name in them.

Being part of the Tabletalk team has been one the best experiences and not only because I get to see my name in the newspaper every week but because of the people I get to interact with.

They have truly changed the way I see things.

I grew up in Summer Greens and I always thought that I knew the issues faced by residents in the surrounding areas.

Working here at Tabletalk has shown me that I have been out of touch with society’s needs. For example, I would have never known that Milnerton police station was in a crisis, facing a shortage of resources and manpower.

I would have not cared about the by-election held in August and I wouldn’t have known that Table View police station was one of the top performing stations in the country.

And I definitely wouldn’t have met my partner in crime, Summer Jacobs. Or maybe crime isn’t the best word to use…

My mother is an avid reader and she would religiously read the Tabletalk, but for years I paid it no attention.

I, however, started getting interested in it when I studied journalism back in 2013 and saw how community papers tackled issues that were important to its readers.

When, late last year I saw an ad for a reporter position, I thought “this was my chance”.

I applied immediately and in May this year I was called in for an interview. I didn’t immediately tell my mother because I wanted to surprise her afterwards. When I got the job, I told her, she was, of course, over the moon.

The team I work with is very professional and things are always done to the letter. There is a structure here that makes production of the week’s paper run like a well-oiled machine.

I look forward to working here for a very long time and I would like to thank the readers for their ongoing support.

From Rugby to Melkbosstrand and from Milnerton to Bothasig — you have a place in Tabletalk.