Rocket Launch

How was your weekend? Mine was really busy, again! I was out in the early hours of Saturday lighting candles in the @candoverbrook vineyard as we wage a war against the frosts. Then on Sunday I worked the Candover Brook stall with @jessbassett_films and Lara at the sublime Alesford @watercressfest . What a brilliant crowd who love Candover Brook as much as we do. In fact they quickly cleared us out of our Rosé NV and we sold many bottles and cases of the Brut NV too. A great day 🥂, just sad there was no time to wander round and see all our other local producer friends. Thank you Sarah from @rivertestdistillery for helping us out with extra tasting cups! 💚 #hampshirepr #foodanddrinkpr #hospitalitypr

About last night... I’m a little jaded today as my phone rang at 1.45am with a call to arms. As well as looking after PR for award-winning English Sparkling Wine, @candoverbrook , I am a volunteer in the Frost Watch team. So on went the layers, most importantly the gloves, and we headed to the vineyard to light giant vegetable wax candles to help raise the temperature around the vines to stop the buds from freezing. The sounds are incredible. The torches firing up, the crackle of the candles, and the owls cheering us on overhead. The job done, the vineyard looking stunning, we celebrated our work with a quick nip of whisky before returning to our beds. Another hardy team of volunteers were in the vineyard at 7am to snuff out the candles as we brace ourselves for the risk of another frost tonight. Above and beyond the call of a PR? Absolutely not! Supporting clients at every step of the journey and getting stuck in is what I love, whatever it takes, whatever the hour, to make sure a crisis never gets the chance to happen. #independentpr #foodanddrinkpr #freelancepr #hampshirepr #rocketlaunchuk

To be named in the Independent Impact 50 last year was a career-defining moment. To make Indie’s Oscars cut again this year was an unexpected joy and an enormous honour. Standing in a room full of PR legends watching fellow winners arrive, it felt like being at the Traitors’ breakfast. Who wasn’t coming back this year? Spoiler alert: I survived. And what a privilege to be among such talented, experienced, brilliant people. Every conversation reminded me why I love this industry. I was asked to give a speech, which I deliberately didn’t prepare, worrying about it would have made my nerves worse and stopped me enjoying the celebratory afternoon tea. The result was less seasoned PR pro, more wannabe Butlins camp comic. But I hope the message landed. These awards, created by Rod Cartwright and Nigel Sarbutts and supported by 72Point, matter. The industry is changing and the number of independent practitioners is growing. We are not just a cheap alternative to an agency or a temporary replacement for an in-house team. Most in that room had at least a decade in the game, simply seeking an alternative to corporate life, the freedom to choose whom we work with and when. These awards celebrate that. They make us feel seen, heard and part of something bigger. And for someone who started out as a lonely freelancer more than 20 years ago, that means more than I can say. A huge thank you to my clients, who used my nomination to say some genuinely lovely things about me. You don’t often get feedback as an independent, so it was wonderful to hear that you like what I do and that I’m making a positive impact on your businesses. That’s why I do this ☺️ . #independentpr #freelancepr #impact50

Well, April was fun, here are some highlights... * Meeting the Deputy Mayor of Winchester, Cllr Jamie Scott with Suzy, Sarah, Paul and Christopher from @winchesterbid at the AGM 🤝 * Tasting the new @candoverbrook 2020 releases in the vineyard 🥂 * Checking our @winchestercookery for a client event for @atasteofwinchester 👩‍🍳 * The fantastic @frombehindcloseddoorsfestival , celebrating Winchester’s creative community 🎉 * Two @sociablesuzy selfies in one month! 🤳 * A great trip to @newforestfruit with @jessbassett_films . Thanks for showing us around, Sandy 🍓 * @thestudiowinchester @elevateofficialuk Studio opens 🧘‍♀️ * Checking @candoverbrook and @hampshire.market.garden weren’t being blown away at the Southampton Regenerative Festival 🥕 * A fabulous time at @farmshop_deli Show 🥚 * Completing 8 months of running every day 🏃‍♀️ #hampshirepr #foodanddrinkpr #hellowinchester #independentprpractitioner

Well done to all the team @frombehindcloseddoorsfestival for a brilliant launch last night. Some say you shouldn’t throw events on a Friday and yet it was a packed house at @uni_southampton_wsa . The place was choc full of the best creatives in our city and some of my favourite people. I’m going back for a better look at the Creative Winchester Exhibition which showcases work of some of our most respected creative businesses and the 24-hour design challenge which saw professionals and design students come together to work on project for the homeless. This weekend you can also pop in and see inside many of their studios too. Check out @frombehindcloseddoorsfestival for more details. #winchester #creativewinchester #hellowinchester @rodd_design @wemeanthis @seenagency @winchesterbid

The @farmshop_deli show at the NEC is a firm annual highlight event for me. I love chatting, connecting and catching up with the fabulous businesses in this sector. It’s always great to travel all the way to Birmingham and bump into a bit of local. It was good to reconnect with @newforestfruit and @chococochocolates , as well as @simon_s_browning who’s been a work colleague, friend and client over 30+ years and who is creating something really exciting with Sesame. I also loved hearing how far @jurassic.drinks have come since it met them at the show last year. The show is a good opportunity to spot the latest trends and tastes of the future. Ruby and I tasted quite a few and would definitely put @yewdrink Rubarb sparking water high on our list of favourites. Another tasty highlight was the coffee from @neighbourhoodcoffee which kept us going on a long day, but brilliant day. 😋 #foodanddrinkpr #hospitalitypr

There will now short break in our programmes. Q1 2026 has been phenomenal at Rocket Launch and I’m off to recharge my batteries ready for some exciting launches, new clients and projects ahead. I’m going to try and stay off the socials as much as possible. Please can someone message me if Simba the capybara is found. Happy holidays 🐣. #independentpr #freelancepr #hampshirepr

Wow March! Springing into action with a few of this month’s highlights. - A lovely catch up with the PR & A Pint gang - All the fun from the @swoon_gelato Winchester including my on-brand necklace and a Dierckx sandwich. - Securing a fab broadcast op for @southdownssocial with @bbchampshire - A fun @seenagency Social, hearing the @sibstar_card journey. - Behind the scenes prep for the launch of @thestudiowinchester with @elevateofficialuk . - With @jessbassett_films for @candoverbrook at @bluejasmine_uk for the monthly @hampshire_fare network. - Celebrating the all female team @hazeleyenterprisepark for International Women’s Day. What a whirlwind! Time for a short break 🐣. #independentpr #freelancepr #hampshirepr #rocketlaunchuk

How can it already be a week since the launch of @swoon_gelato Winchester? This was one of the best launches I’ve worked on, and an absolute joy from start to finish. For those who don’t know Swoon, it was founded in 2016 by Bruno Forte, whose family introduced handmade gelato to Great Britain over 120 years ago. The brand operates gelato bars in Bristol, Bath, Oxford and a permanent concession within Selfridges Foodhall on London’s Oxford Street. Winchester becomes the sixth location. Their delicious gelato is crafted with clean ingredients and recognised with more than 100 Great Taste stars, including a Supreme Champion title. It’s the kind of brand that’s a PR’s dream! I secured local media coverage ahead of opening day. Thank you, @hampshirechronicle and @winchester.magazine . I had great support from Winchester BID, local businesses and some brilliant content creators, alongside a group of students from the @uniwinchester , led by @sociablesuzy , who helped us spread the word: 120 free scoops for the first 120 customers from 10am on Friday morning. Spoiler, 10am is absolutely not too early for gelato. Thursday evening brought a wonderful VIP pre-launch, and on Friday, our fabulous Mayor of Winchester, Sudhakar Achwal, and MP Danny Chambers (@danny_the_vet ) cut the ribbon to officially open the doors and welcome a queue that stretched down the street and didn’t let up all weekend. Long after the free scoops were gone, the customers kept coming, exactly what you want to see. Bruno and Ana-Maria Forte were wonderful clients, and Josh Margarson and the shop team were tremendous throughout. A fantastic result. I love my job!🍦 Additional pics from @fox.and.gazelle and @sociablesuzy #independentpr #foodanddrinkpr #hampshirepr #launchpr

Winchester, what a welcome 💛 Our opening at 79 Parchment Street couldn’t have been more special – the energy, the support, the queues… just incredible. A huge thank you to our amazing team who made it all happen, to Miranda @rocketlaunchuk for bringing the vision to life and creating such a brilliant launch, to the Mayor of Winchester @winchestercitycouncil and @danny_the_vet , Mp for Winchester, for joining us, and to @fox.and.gazelle for capturing it all so perfectly. We’re so excited to now be part of this beautiful city. Come say hello 👋🍨 #hellowinchester#winchestereats #momentsofjoy❤️ #gelato

February flew by in a wonderfully varied mix of projects, people and places. One of the things I value most about being an independent practitioner is the diversity of work and clients. No two months are ever the same. February’s highlights included: 🍴 An exciting first planning meeting for @atasteofwinchester , our two-week celebration of local producers and hospitality across the city organised by @winchesterbid and sponsored by @dutton_gregory . 🥂 A @hampshire_fare network at the beautiful @boathouseswanwick , always good to connect with that community. 🍽️ Introducing a client to new local suppliers at the @centralsouthfooddrinkexpo . 🍨 Starting work with an exciting new client (more on that next month…). 💝 Lovely media coverage for @candoverbrook Candover Brook’s Valentine’s collaboration with local flower farmers @stemandgreen . 🏗️ Lots happening on site at @hazeleyenterprisepark as the development continues to take shape. ✨ Catching up with the 2025 Independent Impact 50 winners and fellow CIPR Independent Practitioner Network members at Mishcon de Reya in London. 👣 Supporting publicity for the incredible Christina Dolding and Brain Tumour Research as she set off on her 1,200-mile walk from Land’s End to John O’Groats (Follow @lejollie2026 ) A short and busy month, and now I’m ready to leap into spring 🌱. #hampshirepr #foodanddrinkpr#freelancepr #independentpr #hellowinchester

Despite not being a big fan of public speaking (I’m more karaoke mic than lectern botherer), I was really proud to represent the @cipr_ipn with my fellow co-chair, Sara Naylor at a joint event brining together the IPN and the Independent Impact 50. It was fabulously hosted by @mishcon_de_reya , whose Holborn offices, with a central bar, were like a warm hug after a terrible journey! Thank you Emma Woollcott for welcoming us so warmly, it was great to meet you and your team. And of course, huge thanks to Nigel Sarbutts and Rod Cartwright for putting the Independent Impact 50 together and making this event happen. I’m also still very proud that I was named in that inaugural 50! Always great to catch up with fellow winners, especially IPN committee member Jane Griffin, Chart.PR and the King of AI @andismit . Go indies 🙌🏻 #independentpr #independentimpact50 #CIPR @cipr_global