From Glasgow, Sydney and Oslo, where I have written, blogged and questioned, to Zurich, London and Dubai, where I have edited, commissioned and understood, the spark burns brighter in me than when I first turned up at my local newspaper office aged 14 dressed like a studious Bart Simpson.

I have faced interviewees in Damascus, Bangkok and Toronto; I have filed from an African helicopter, Swiss mountain train and from inside the beating heart of sport stadiums. I have travelled the world, visiting more than 71 countries and 643 cities including reporting from the frontlines in Nicaragua, India, Oman, Syria, Jordan, Russia, Thailand, Lithuania, Greece and the UAE. I have tracked wild polar bears across the Canadian sub-arctic, reported on George W Bush's Air Force One and the G8 Summit, toured the tunnels and tombs of El Salvador's war torn landscapes, trekked in the footsteps of the Dalai Lama across Tibet, stayed in the private chalet of the richest man in France, interviewed Sheikhs, United Nations diplomats, government ministers, F1 Grand Prix champions, haute couture fashion designers, renowned chefs, astronauts, Genovese watchmakers, and some of the world's most respected analysts and businessmen.

It is an exhaustive list of editing, subbing, commissioning, and freelancing - and understandably, it has gone on to define me. And for that I will always be thankful.